Across the Years
by Quitting Time
Summary: It started with Jade visiting an antique shop and her spotting an old dusty photo. A photo of a young beauty that would change her life forever. Just how far would go you go to find your true love? An AU Jori Story with some Time travel. Rated K for now, but that may change with later chapters
1. An old photo

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years**

**Chapter 1 – An old photo.**

**No One's POV**

Jade was in her 2nd month of her 1st year abroad in England, when she stepped into the shop that would change her life. Recently having graduated Hollywood Art's high school, she won a scholarship to attend a prestigious private arts school named Broadlands college. It was located in a small community, called Herford which was located just outside of London.

Things had gone well and she had settled in her small flat that was over a bakery. Besides spending her time involved with school work, she would frequently in her spare time to explore the town. A town which prided itself on a small town feel, being located so close to London proper.

On this particular Sunday afternoon she wandered in to an antique shop that was located just off the downtown. She hoped to find something gothic looking to decorate her rather plain flat with. It was a small shop and was packed with antiques floor to ceiling. Jade wondered just how they could fit so much in.

But on this visit, not much caught her eye. An antique end table did, but once she saw the price of 300 pounds, her interest quickly waned. She had only about 55 pounds to spend.

"Nothing caught your eye yet, Miss?" Said the elderly shopkeeper in a cockney accent.

"No." Jade said with a shake of her head.

"Are you looking for something specific?"

Jade shrugged. "Just decorating my flat. Seeing if anything looks interesting."

"Well just let me know if you have any questions." The man said, leaving jade to her task."

Eventually Jade wandered over to a table with a sign, "Newly arrived." She was about to turn away, when a small photograph in a gold frame caught her eye. It was a very old picture of a young woman in a long white dress covered with lace. She was holding a bouquet of flowers and her hair was done up with a flower in it. It appeared to be a wedding or some kind of formal portrait.

Jade would have put it down, if not for one thing. The woman's face. It was the most beautiful she had ever seen. She looked somewhat Hispanic and had cheek bones, perfect lips and a set of dark eyes that caused her heart to beat like mad. Jade found herself unable to look away from the woman. Though one thing bothered her about the photograph, the woman in the picture looked sad. Loneliness was the first word that ran through the Goth's head.

"Why do I think she's lonely." Jade mused.

In any case it bugged her that this beautiful creature was unhappy. Jade who was openly lesbian since high school, couldn't remember ever seeing such a beautiful face.

"Who are you?" murmured Jade quietly.

Thinking she opened the back of the frame so she could examine the back of the picture for a name. Jade just had to know this woman's name if anything. But luck was with her, as written on the back in pencil was

_Victoria Vega Walker – July 1869_

"Vega?" Jade said as she thought. "Spain is not far off, perhaps she's part Spanish." The thought that this lady would have Spanish blood, only deepened the mystery. Jade put the back of the frame in place, turned it around and smiled.

"Hello Victoria. Would you to come home with me?" Jade said to the picture. It was labeled 7 pounds. Jade wasn't sure why, but she just had to have this picture. It was more than the fact that this woman was stunningly beautiful, it was much more. But Jade just wasn't sure why.

Picture in hand, Jade walked to the cash register and put it down.

"Found something I see." He said as he looked at the frame.

Jade smiled. "I think she needed a home. Do you know where this picture is from? I got it from that table of new arrivals."

The man appeared to think for a moment and appeared to remember. "Oh yes. Last week they tore down the mansion, on the old Oliver estate. House had been falling apart and empty for ages. The land had been sold to a developer who's going to build a new Tesco supermarket. My nephew who was on the demolition team found this and a box of old junk in the basement. Looked like no one had touched it in over a 100 years. The bankruptcy court had sold off everything and wanted the rest disposed of, but he knew I may make a few dollars with this stuff so he passed it to me. It was just going to get thrown out otherwise. I'm glad you're giving this lady a good home. That will be 7 pounds."

Jade handed the man a 10 pound note, got her change and left; picture in hand.

As she walked the 5 blocks to her flat she felt a strange giddiness to get her new addition home. It was like she wanted to show Victoria her new home. It was strange since she's probably been dead for decades. In her small one bedroom flat, Jade immediately thought of where to put Victoria. Only one thing came to mind. Her very small bedroom.

After a few moments of thought, Jade hung the picture of Victoria on the wall next to the bed. Over the next few nights as she lay in bed reading, as was her habit before going to bed, her attention would frequently move to the picture of Victoria.

Jade would sit there and wonder who she was, what her voice sounded like. What color were her eyes. Actually Jade obsessed with that. Were they a dark blue or brown? Of course Jade always wondered, why was she so unhappy. Jade found herself loving to look at the picture. She even moved it closer to the head of the bed so she could see it better. It had a strange hold on her, but she could care less.

**Jade's POV**

I've owned the picture for a week and every passing day it seems to take more and more a hold of me. She's beautiful in a way, I can't even begin to describe. Just seeing her makes my shattered heart, want to beat again.

I never thought I would even want to be with anyone after Becca. I met her at a party after my sophomore year at Hollywood arts.

_Flashback._

_She was leaning against a wall, watching people with a discerning look. She was wearing ripped blue jeans, a Slayer t shirt over a faded leather jacket. Her face was an oval one with piercing ice blue eyes and short spiky black hair. A moment later she turned and saw me. _

_She was a Goth like me. I had been with girls before but I never wanted one as much as I wanted her. I couldn't even begin to understand what those glacier like eyes were doing to me. We had barely made eye contact and I knew she was judging me; checking me for every flaw. That just made her even more appealing. Her black lips were curved in a scowl that sent shivers down my neck. She looked like the coldest person I had met, and that's how I knew I would lover her. Then there was those leather pants, she could do no wrong in them. She showed off every single curve of her legs. _

_Before I knew it, I was moving towards her. It was like she was calling to me and I couldn't resist. Much like some siren out of ancient Greek mythology, her pull felt that strong._

_I couldn't help but think of the Irony of it all. I had come to the party to make a conquest. Some drunken freshman girl who wanted to see how the other half lived maybe. No…Tonight, I was going to be the conquest._

_As I approached, her smile widened. She knew she had me. "I see you know what you want. I like that in a girl." She said in a sultry tone._

_I felt the need to do something, take some initiative. She was well in the process of reducing me to a mewling thing that would happily worship her form. My pride would not stand for it. _

_I said nothing and looked her over with a lick of my lips for a moment. Then I stepped forward and put one hand around the back of her neck and the other around her back. Before she could react I pushed my lips to hers and gave her the most passionate kiss I could possibly muster. It was an incredible kiss, my whole body felt like it was on fire. But I had to leave her wanting more and the part of me that wanted to be that mewling thing asserted itself. So I broke the kiss. _

_She looked dazed for a moment, but quickly recovered. I had momentarily taken control. Something I suspect, her pride wouldn't tolerate. I was proven right about a second later._

_She took my hand and looked me in dead in the eyes with a paralyzing look. "YOU'RE MINE!"_

_As I felt myself getting wet right here, I knew she was dead right._

_End flashback._

We took one of the bedrooms and soon I was being fucked silly. Afterward we talked and found that that we had similar tastes in music movies and books. We clicked and within a month we were officially a couple. Some would say we were twins, based on the fact that we were so much alike. For all of junior year and most of senior year we were a couple. Spending lots of time at the Goth clubs, hanging out. It was great. Sex, what can I say about the sex. She loved sex. I eventually had to learn to study alone as when we did together we nearly always ended up in bed. Come to think of it, we almost always ended up in bed. I loved her and thought this would be the one.

About a month into senior year I learned of the competition for a scholarship to Broadland's college. I heard of it and its very prestigious drama program. Mentioning it to Becca, she encouraged me to apply for it. So I did. I filled out the application, wrote my essay, went on the interview for the judges and hoped for the best.

I was told I wouldn't get the results for several months so I went on with things as normal. Life in school and with Becca was good. But one day in Mid February I got a letter. It told me that I had been selected. I had never even thought I'd win, but I did.

I went straight over to Becca's house to tell her.

"I got it, I won." I said holding the letter as Becca opened the door.

"What?" She said looking puzzled.

I was quite excited "The scholarship. A full ride to Broadland's college outside of London. Isn't it great?"

She smiled and threw her arms around me. "That's great baby, I'm so happy for you."

I should have picked up on it then. There was a brief but subtle change in her expression. But I was too happy to really notice.

I did pick up on it soon after. She started to take longer to respond to my texts and phone calls. She would miss phone calls. She seemed to touch me less and less. Even during sex, something seemed to be missing. The passion seemed to slowly fade away.. She had suddenly changed. It was like a wind that had suddenly shifted from a warm summer breeze, to a biting cold autumn wind.

I caught her a month later in a club flirting with another girl. In a rage I flew up to her, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away."

_Flashback._

"Care to explain yourself Becca! You've been avoiding me all week and now I find you here flirting." I said, nearly livid.

_She stood up straight and took a defiant posture. "We're done. I'm moving on. I was going to tell you tomorrow but I guess today's' as good as any."_

_I was blown away. Hearing her wanting to break up send my emotions into a tailspin.. "Just like that we're done? We've been together over a year and a half. What is it? The scholarship?"_

_She nodded. "Yes."_

"_Pardon my faulty memory, but I seem to recall you encouraged me to apply." I snapped back, suddenly veering back from despair to anger. _

"_I did. I never thought you'd actually win. Now you'll be in London and I'll be here."_

"_I told you, we could talk by Skype and I'd visit and you'd…." I said suddenly feeling desperate.  
_

_She chuckled mockingly. "So I could only get some only every couple of months. Do I look like the type who'd wait for someone? If you can't fulfill my needs, than I need to find someone else."_

_That felt like a dagger through my heart. I honestly though she loved me. I hated to cry, especially in public, but the tears burst forth._

"_I thought you loved me? Was that all I was to you. Someone to fulfill your needs." _

_She crossed her arms and looking at me like I was a fool. "Oh I loved being with you, and the sex was great. But you need to realize that…"_

_I never let her finish her sentence, as I threw a hard punch squarely into her nose. She flew backwards landing on the floor. By the time she landed, her nose was gushing blood._

_Nearly every instinct I had told me to kick her ass, but my shattered heart told me to run. Run and cry. _

_That's exactly what I did._

_End flashback._

That was the last time I ever spoke or saw Becca.

I was blindsided by her, plain and simple. I had given her my heart and she crushed it. It was plain now, that I had been played for a fool since the first day we met. The thing is, she was so much like me, I should have seen it coming. That was stupid of me. Since that day with Becca, my heart had remained broken and still. It wasn't until I saw that picture, did it begin to beat again.

Victoria appears to be the exact opposite of Becca. She's pretty, has long flowing hair and I can't get enough of seeing her. Becca didn't want a long distance relationship, her needs seem to take priority over everything else. Though I find myself in one anyway. Not separated by miles, but by 145 years.

It's late and I need to go to sleep, as have an 8 am class. I take a moment more to study Victoria's face and once again I can feel my heart beat a few times.

"145 years" I say with a sigh as I hang the picture back on the wall.

Turning out the lights, I imagine her soft form pressed up against me, as a line from an old 70's song, that comes to mind.

_Imaginary lovers never disagree  
They always care  
They're always there when you need  
Satisfaction guaranteed _

**I'd like to thank 27milestogo for the original story idea and help writing this**. **I hadn't planned to release this until I had one of my stories finished, but since it's easter, I figured what the heck. The next chapter probably won't be out for at least another week.**

**The song quoted, is "Imaginary Lover" by The Atlanta Rhythm section. **

**The town of Herford does not exist. I made it up.**


	2. The Box

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years**

**Chapter 2 – The box.**

**Jade's POV**

Call me obsessed if you wish, I'll wear the label if you choose to hang it on me. But I can't stop thinking about her. Like a ghost, she constantly haunts my thoughts. That mysterious woman from 1869. A young beautiful thing that makes my damaged heart move every time I see her. Today as I leave my flat and head to school on a rather foggy morning, I think about her. From the old church that's across from my flat, to the point where I sit down in class I think of her.

I want to know more. Half way through my costume design class it hits me. The old guy at the antique store said there was more stuff from this Oliver estate. Perhaps there was something more that belonged to this Victoria. As soon as classes were done for the day, I headed straight back to the antique store.

Entering the store, I found the older gentleman waiting behind the counter with a friendly smile.

"Hello, may I help you."

"Ah..Yes. I was here more than a week ago. I bought an old picture from the Oliver estate. You said it was some stuff that had been forgotten in the basement." I asked letting some of my eagerness show.

"He thought for a moment and then seemed to remember. "Oh Yes. That picture of the pretty young woman. I remember now. You don't want to return it don't you? All sales are final, I'm afraid."

I shook my head. "No..actually, I'm interested in seeing what else you may have."

The man tapped his fingers on the counter for a moment as he appeared to think. "Hmm…Let me see. I sold most of that stuff sold just the other day to some collector. Some old candlesticks, an end table….Oh…I do have something left. Follow me."

As I followed the man I asked. "What do you know about the estate itself?"

"The Oliver family was once quite prosperous. One of them was even a member of parliament for a time, ages ago. But over the last century or so, their fortunes declined. Some scandal there was, some time back. Um…one of the main heir's, a rather promising young fellow I hear, was killed at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The family gradually died off and the last of them passed away in the 1980's. The estate was completely bankrupt by then. The old house, sat unoccupied for years as it all wound through the courts. The land was sold off to pay off the debts to some developer who as I said, knocked it down and is currently putting a supermarket in its place." He said as he rummaged around in a dark corner.

"Ahh…here it is." He said as he pulled out a small wooden chest. It was plain, appearing to be made of maple and appeared to be about 2 feet by 2 feet and about a foot high. "This is the last piece. A small wooden chest."

"What's in it?"

He shrugged. "Haven't the foggiest, idea. It's locked and no key was found."

I had no idea what was in it, but I had to know if something of Victoria's was in there. "How much?"

He put his hand to his chin. "40 pounds."

I cursed silently as I only had 31. "I have 31, how about that. I said as I put my hand on his shoulder. Just a casual touch works wonders sometimes."

It must have worked as he nodded. "Ok, 31 pounds it is."

I reached over and picked up the chest. It had something inside as it had some weight. But I was able to carry it. After paying the man I happily heaved my bounty home. I could only thank my lucky stars that he accepted my offer. I half expected to have to leave and scrape together some more money.

Speaking of money, I needed to find a job. At least a part time one. I made a mental note to start looking the next day. The chest itself seemed to grow heavier the longer I carried it. But I finally managed to drag it home and put it on my kitchen table.

But now I had another problem. It was locked and I had no key. I could use my precious scissors and spend hours trying to jimmy the thing open. But instead I took a hammer and smashed the front in. No point in wasting time.

Having destroyed an antique chest to get at its contents, like the violent American I don't deny being, I opened up the lid. On top was the faded remains of a once white silken dress. It practically fell apart in my hands, but I could tell it was once very beautiful. I felt a stab of sorrow seeing the once elegant dress, crumble in my hands.

I tried to imagine Tori wearing this on some fancy occasion. I could feel my heart flutter as I held the remains of once elegant dress in my hands. I think, it was just knowing that she Victoria once wore this.

Below that were a number of objects. They appeared to have been thrown in there haphazardly and with little care. On top was a old, but well preserved book. It had a red bound cover, with what appeared to be decorative pillars. The spine read Moore's Lalla-Rookh. On the inside was written Victoria Vega Walker.

A quick check of Google told me, the book was an 1817 oriental romance. Well I know she's literate and seems to enjoy romance. Below that was a ragged 1852 copy of William Shakespeare's, Much ado about nothing. There were three other books.

Curious, I pulled out another worn book and opened it to the title page.

It read. "The Undying one; Sorrows of Rosalie and other poems. By Caroline Norton."

Looking at the table of contents the title of one caught my eye; My heart is like a withered nut.

I paged through the book to find said poem, then I read the first few lines aloud.

_"My heart is like a wither'd nut, _

_Rattling within its hollow shell;_

_You cannot open my breast and put_

_Anything fresh within it to dwell."_

It was about heartbreak, something I was all too painfully familiar with. I identified with the poem immediately and found it to be quite excellent. I gently put it and the rest of the books aside for the moment.

Next was a set of small crystal glass jars. Each contained some colored substance. Opening one, it faintly smelled of lavender. I guessed these were perfumes, oils and other make up items. I found a cracked hand mirror, some tweezers and a few other small items I couldn't identify.

I couldn't help but feel a thrill as I knew I was going through the very things that sat in her bedroom. Though I did feel somewhat guilty as these were her personal things. I had bought them, but they in my mind still belonged to her.

There were some hair pins as well and a beautiful looking broach. Under that appeared to be a small sketch book. In it were charcoal drawings of landscapes. They looked like the park that was on the edge of town.

She was an artist as well. The pictures were very good and she had a particular attention to detail. I was very impressed. Next to that was a comb that appeared to be made of Ivory. I found myself, almost without thinking, running it through my hair. It made me feel close to her. Next to that was a brush also made of ivory. Some coarse bristles remained in the brush. I was about to put it down when I saw something.

It was a single strand of hair, twisted around the bristles. My heart jumped at this find. I quickly pulled out the long strand of dark hair and held it up. It was about 8 inches long and was a beautiful single strand of hair.

I was never a romantic person, but finding a single strand of her hair. For an instant the gulf of years between us vanished. She was here with me, if only a tiny piece of her. That may seem insignificant, but having a tiny piece of her, makes all the difference to me. Me the dark cynical Goth, thrilled about a single strand of hair. I must be cracking up.

I held it up to the light to see if I could tell what color it was. The picture was black and white so I could not tell if her hair was brown or black. A close examination revealed that she had brown hair. Long lovely brown hair. I could scarcely believe she was here with me.

Not wanting to loose what I had, I carefully placed the single strand of hair in an envelope. I truly must be nuts if I'm saving the hair of a woman who's probably been dead some 60 or 70 years. I'm being totally fangirlish. But My heart is broken, I'm alone in a foreign country and have no friends here, so I'm entitled to go a little insane. But all I have to do is look at that picture, look into those eyes and it doesn't seem so crazy anymore.

Below that was a piece of white linen. Pulling that aside I was surprised to see a number of small books. Pulling one out, I didn't see any title listed on the book. Not knowing what was inside, opened to a random page.

_October 3rd, 1866._

_It rained most of the day. The weather since last Monday has been rather cold, grey and rainy. I miss the sunshine. But that did now keep them from the inn. We kept busy well into the evening, until the last drunkard had departed. I worry sometimes about them, some of the soldiers look very rough. They eye me constantly and some even grab me when my father isn't looking. But my father, being a decorated ex-army officer knows how to handle them. I had hoped to see my friend Caterina today. But with the rain and the crowd, I didn't find a time to call upon her. If it's not raining tomorrow, I think I shall go riding out past Pennington lane. No more for today._

My heart practically stopped. I pulled out another book and there was yet another entry.

_July 19th, 1863._

_It has been one week since we buried mother. I thank the lord that he took her quickly and her suffering from the sickness was not prolonged. The Reverend Watts, said a special prayer for her today in church. Sadly, it did little to lift my spirits. In fact the spirits of me, father and my sister Trina are all very low at the moment. We miss her terribly. That's all I feel like writing today._

I couldn't believe it. Not only did I have her things, a strand of her hair. But I had her journals. I could actually get to know her. Put a personality to go with that pretty face. I was thrilled beyond imagination.

Looking through the journals, I quickly found the earliest one and set it on my night stand, along with the Thomas Moore book. I actually planned on reading all the books, but would start with that one. It would be a great change of pace from the horror novels and graphic novels I've been reading.

By now it was dinner and I decided to go down to the local pub to eat. I had a dinner consisting of a few pints of ale, with some steak and oyster pie. I've grown fond of that particular dish. As I walked home I passed a message board. People looking to hire frequently put messages that they are seeking employees. I looked at it, as I found myself needing a part time job.

_"Lab assistant wanted. No experience needed but must be adventurous and discrete. Pay is lousy and hours long, but possible great rewards."_

Below that was the phone number and email address for someone called, Professor Sikowitz. Even odder than the manner the note was worded, it looked as if it were written in crayon. A pink one no less. I was tempted to keep going and forget it, but something inside of me told me to grab the note. I hastily pulled the note off the board and stuffed it in my pocket.

I had no idea what to expect from that job, if I got it. But my thoughts returned quickly to Victoria as it frequently did these days

**The part of the poem that Jade reads "My heart is like a withered nut." Is written by Caroline Norton.**


	3. A new Job

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years**

**Chapter 3 – A new Job.**

**Jade's pov.**

My funds were running low so I most certainly needed a job. While my college was paid for and I had saved enough for my room and board, I had little else to spare. My purchase of the things belonging to Victoria, used up a good sized chunk of the cash I had.

I had spotted a note advertising a job for a lab assistant. It was a strange note stating the job had long hours and lousy pay, but possible great rewards. So I called the number, but got an answering machine. I left my name, number, email address and said I was interested in the lab assistant position.

I got an email 2 hours later.

"Come today at 12 noon to my lab for an interview. It's in an old factory on the east end of London. 320 Black Church lane.

Looking at my clock, I realized that I had to leave this instant to get there on time. I didn't even have time to change into something presentable. I was dressed in black leggings, a plaid skirt and a green top.

"Oh well. You didn't give me time to change. What you see is what you get." I mumbled as I grabbed my keys and headed out. I made it down to the tube station in record time. Fortunately luck was with me and I managed to arrive at the address with 5 minutes to spare. The building looked very old and appeared to be once a small factory. The area had several old factories that appeared to have been converted into lofts and small businesses. The front appeared to have been remodeled at some point and some storefronts put in. There was a dry cleaners and a Chinese restaurant in the only 2 that appeared to be occupied at the moment. 320 Black Church Lane. was at the end and I noticed immediately the glass was painted over. But over the doorway in faded letters read. "Atlas Records and Tapes."

I began to have a bad feeling about this job and reached into my leather Jacket to make sure my trusty pair of scissors was present. Knocking on the door got no response, so I tried the knob. The door was open so I walked in.

The front room was obviously a record store at one point in time. I saw a counter, and empty racks which once held cd's. But besides that, there were boxes of what appeared to be electronic parts. Other boxes held papers and reference books of some technical nature. The whole place looked chaotic and unorganized. In one corner sat a cluttered desk that was covered with papers.

Before I could do anything, a man who looked about 40 burst out of the door in the back. The door itself said Keep out. His hair was unkempt and dressed kind of like a hippy.

Holding something in his hand he rushed up to me with an excited expression. "Tell me, what is this?" I noticed right away, he was an American.

I took a quick look at the object in his hand. "Um…It looks like a socket wrench that's half melted."

He huffed and looked at the thing rather strangely. "I thought so too. At least is didn't melt completely melt this time."

He then pulled out a coconut from his pocket and took a sip while looking me over carefully. "Dressed in Goth clothing, hasty judgmental expression. Do you like science fiction?"

I shook my head. "Only when people die."

"Are you a patient person?"

"No!"

"Let me guess. You love horror movies and all kinds of morbid things."

"Yes."

"Are you a student?"

"Yes"

"What's your major? Please tell me it's not physics, mathematics or history."

This was the strangest interview I've ever had. He didn't seem menacing, but just odd. "I'm majoring in Theatre, with a minor in writing."

He then leaned in and gave me a very suspicious look. "Stephen Hawking didn't send you didn't he? He's always spying on me."

I searched my mind for who that was and came up empty. "Who's Stephen Hawking?"

"What's your name?"

"It's Jade. Jade West.

He then smiled and extended his hand. "Well Jade. You're hired. The pay is 300 pounds every two weeks. The working conditions are messy, I may call you at odd time's and have you do odd things. But thanks to an arrangement, meals are included. Courtesy of the Chinese restaurant two doors down. We have an arrangement. There are two rules at present."

"What are they?"

The door in the back has a hallway. You will find the bathrooms there. But at the end of the hallway is another door. There is some very dangerous equipment in there. Until I say so, you must stay out. Second rule is that you must not discuss what you see or do here. Deal?"

I'm going to regret this. "Sure." I said as I shook his hand.

He handed me a wad of pound notes. "Great. Your first task is to get me a new socket wrench. Since my last one melted. When you come back, I need you to search through the boxes in the room and find something for me."

"What's that?"

"A book called, Linear equations of Particle physics by D. Schneider."

It was then I realized that there were no less than 20 boxes of books all stacked around the room. "One socket wrench coming up."

He said goodbye and I headed out. I used my phone to find a hardware store nearby and started to walk. About half way into my 20 minute walk to the hardware store, I suddenly realized something. This part of London is where Jack the Ripper once stalked his victims.

"So cool. I must find time to see the murder sites."

I returned about an hour after I left, with a new socket wrench in hand. Sikowitz wasn't in the bathrooms or the front room so I knocked on the door in the back.

It suddenly opened an inch and a eye appeared in the gap. "Were you followed? Perhaps by an older looking gentleman in a wheel chair. He doesn't move and speaks in a mechanical voice."

Jade slowly shook her head and held out the wrench. "No. I have your wrench, though."

The door opened slightly. Sikowitz then reached out and snatched the wrench. "Thank you. Let me know when you find the book. With that he slammed the door shut.

I spent the next two hours looking for the book he was searching for. He had boxes of electronic parts, technical papers, and science books. Though I noticed that most of the books related to physics and several of them seemed to have something to do with wormholes.

I had heard that wormholes were supposed to be little holes in space that would take you from point a to point b, allowing you to bypass millions of miles in normal space. That was pretty much all I knew. I eventually found the book and gave it to Sikowitz. He spent almost the entire time in his lab, only occasionally coming out to see how I was doing. I would occasionally hear him, making noise in the back room and once or twice the lights dimmed as I heard a loud humming sound.

He then had me do some data entry. He had a whole notebook of numbers and had me enter them in an excel spread sheet. I finished about 7:30 in the evening. He gave me some Chinese food and sent me home, asking me to return in two days.

I could have asked him about his experiments, but figured with his paranoia he'd wouldn't tell me squat. As I rode the subway home, I found my mind falling into the past. Letting my thoughts once again return to Victoria.

A long dead woman who's face, haunt's me. The more I saw that face, the more I had to know her. So when I arrived home, I sat in bed and read the first of her journals. I felt this thrill to know that I would finally get to know this mysterious beauty.

_Jun 3rd, 1862_

_Today is my birthday. I turn 12 today. I'm so excited. Mother and father, for my present, bought me a journal to write in. They must have heard me talking about how Grace Parkington had one and that I wanted one too. I want one so I can write about my exciting adventures. My friend Cat and I went walking by the river in the park. I saw a swan with its babies swimming behind it. I love the park. It's my favorite place. _

The first entry wasn't too exciting, but from the number of books, I can tell that Victoria managed to keep up with her journals. I expected them to get more exciting as time went on.

I soon discovered that there were a few gaps in the entries. Tori wouldn't write every single day, but did frequently. There was couple of spaces between books. I'd guessed that some of the journals were missing. By the end of the first night, I managed to make it through her 14th, year and learned quite a bit about her.

Her name was Victoria Vega Walker. She was born in London, England on June 3rd, 1850. She was the youngest daughter of Major David Walker of the British Army and his Spanish wife, Maria Vega. David Walker was born into a family of minor nobility, whose fortunes had long since faded. With little left to his estate, David's father managed to scrape up enough to buy him a commission as a Lieutenant in the 24th Regiment of foot. I had to look it up online, but learned that in the British army it was commonplace for wealthy families to have purchased officer's commissions for their son's.

From what I read, David Walker served in India and was decorated for bravery in the Second Anglo-Sikh war in India in the 1840's. David from what I learned actually turned out to be an excellent officer who earned the respect of his men and his superiors. It was in India he met and fell in love with Maria Vega, the daughter of prosperous Spanish merchant.

In 1849 they had their first child, a daughter named Catarina. However I learned that for reasons not quite stated, that she was rarely ever referred to by her full name. She's always called simply Trina. In 1849, David Transferred to a regiment stationed in London, where Victoria was born.

David served in the British army for 3 more years before retiring at the rank of Major. Afterward he settled in the nearby town of Herford where he opened and Inn and tavern as well as being a merchant. Victoria stated that her mother wanted to settle down and not be dragged all over the earth like her father had done with her. As a merchant's daughter, Tori's mother lived in several parts of the globe.

He soon became a respected member of the community and with his military and family background was accepted as a peer of the more upper class families of the area, the Valentines and the Oliver's. Things passed normally until Tori's mother died of Cholera in 1863. Tori was greatly saddened by her mother's loss.

But beyond the basic facts of Tori's parents, I learned that Tori was a bright and happy person, who thought frequently of others. She loved spending her time in the park, riding her horse when she could and loved to sing. Though singing in the church choir was her only outlet for that. Her sister Trina was a bit more selfish and self-centered and picked on Tori from time to time.

Tori's best friend was Katherine Valentine, the daughter of a wealthy family in town. Apparently her strange brother almost always referred to her as Cat so the label stuck.

I noticed something odd as I read. While Trina came of age, her interest in boys became quite clear. Tori's interest in boys however, seemed to be lacking. I'd noticed one other thing. When she described women, she usually was more descriptive than with males. The details seemed to be lacking with men, as if she really didn't pay much attention to them.

It got my mind thinking and wondering, if we had more in common than I originally thought. But I quickly cautioned myself not to read too much into the ramblings of 14 year old.

But ramblings aside, I felt myself being pulled in deeper and deeper.


	4. Is she or Isn't she?

**Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 4 – Is she or isn't she.**

**Jade's Pov**

The more I read the journals, the more I'm taken with Victoria. She's bright, cheery, upbeat and cares deeply about others. She loves walking in the park on sunny days and reads romantic stories. Maybe not the attributes a lesbian Goth would look for in a woman, but after having my heart crushed by Becca she's like a breath of fresh air.

I continue my odd work for Sikowitz working about 3-4 days a week. He has me run odd errands around London frequently. He'll have me get a circuit board or some other piece of computer equipment. Sometimes he has me fetch a particular book or scientific journal. I've been doing a lot of data entry, but most of that is just numbers into a spreadsheet.

I did some research and learned that my employer is Dr. Erwin Sikowitz, who graduated near the top of his class from Cal Tech. He has doctorates in both Physics and Math. From what I've learned, he was always a person that went against the grain and some of his theory's had been ridiculed by his peers. His specialty seems to deal with wormholes. Holes in space and time that can take a person across far distances in an instant.

But that's not all that relevant, as this is only a job. As long as I get my free Chinese food and paycheck, I'll do anything that doesn't involve me getting naked or dead.

In the journals I'm up to Tori's 16th year. She works in the Tavern/Inn her father owns as a waitress and spends a lot of time with her friend Cat. I said this before, but I've noticed something recently in the journals. It's subtle but hasn't escaped my attention. I had previously noticed her sister being man crazy, but Tori not nearly so. But lately, I've noticed an odd thing.

When she describes men, it's usually not very descriptive. She gives only the most basic descriptions, such as He was tall and thin with curly brown hair.

But with women she often goes into much more detail. Such in this entry.

_December 14__th__, 1866. _

_Father, Trina and I were blessed with an invitation to the Christmas Party at Cat's parent's estate. It was a wonderful affair with excellent food, good conversation and we even danced. Cat introduced me to her cousin Elizabeth Barry, who was from Coventry. She was a saucy sort of girl and rather fun to talk to. She was about my height with an oval face, green eyes and narrow lips. Her hair lay in tight, dark brown ringlets. She was what they called a full figured girl with a large bosom. Elizabeth and I spent most of the night just talking and getting to know each other. Her father, William Barry, was an owner one of the coal mines in the area. He was a rather short round fellow, but a friendly jovial sort. _

_Trina spent time talking to the newly commissioned Lieutenant Akers. He was tall and handsome with short brown hair. With a laugh, I watched as she tried to goad him in to asking her to dance. Father spent time talking to Mr. Valentine and the other adults where the subject of Business was the main topic of conversation. We had a wonderful night_

Now that the fact that she describes women in much more detail may mean nothing. But something inside me tells me it's because she prefers to look at woman. It's not just that, but lots of other little things.

But with each entry, I fell more in love with Victoria. Though I started to call her Tori for short. My own little pet nickname for her. A lot of the entries were just day to day life in Victorian England. I went to the grocer, attended school, but some were her more deeper thoughts. But even thing I felt like she was holding back.

The next summer was a very interesting entry. Much to my disgust, I learned that Tori's father had arranged for her to marry Beckett Oliver.

_July 3__rd__, 1867_

_Today was a rather strange day. Father spoke to me of a boy that will have my hand when he is older. I have a picture and he is attractive I suppose. His hair is a nice raven color and his eyes are an auburn hue. His name is Becker Oliver and other than that there is not much to note of my future husband. I was told he is now 23 years of age. I'm told he has traveled extensively throughout the world. Though I smiled and said he looked nice, honestly I felt little enthusiasm for him._

_Though later in the day, much more happened than I was prepared to deal with. Cat and I spent the evening by the lake and I sketched her._

_The sun shone radiant off the crimson hues of her hair. I fear my drawing failed to do her large and bright eyes justice. Though, it far too common to have brown eyes as I myself do, but hers had a special impact. They expressed her youth and innocence and her lack of concern or care as she was ready to brave the world._

_Perhaps her best feature aside from her painstakingly flawless skin was her lips. I loved her cupid's bow. They were a nice and gentle pink shade that complimented her skin well._

_Whenever I looked at her I was never certain if I felt envy for her looks or I merely appreciated true beauty. Either way part of what I enjoyed when spending time with her was looking at her._

_Still though part of the night was tainted when Cat began to go into detail of her first kiss. Evidently a stable hand felt cocky when she went to see her horse. I had seen the stable hands and they were all grown and rather bulky men. I wasn't infuriated at the thought of his hairy almost ape like arms grabbing hold of her petite frame. I couldn't really describe what I felt. Still, she spoke of how it ran an incredible sensation through her body as their lips collided. I could only hide disgust at the thought of her perfect lips meeting against a thin line hidden by an ungodly amount of facial hair._

_Oh my dear, how wonderful a person I am that I didn't not lose the contents of my last meal when she confessed of his tongue meeting hers._

_That is all there is to write for today._

I was now beginning to suspect she was gay. With a very ungoth like whoop, I jumped in the air. "You like girls I know it. I can't be wrong." It was exciting and only further drew me in.

I read on and spent some time looking at the sketch book that was in the chest. While she liked to sketch she wasn't all that great. She frequently did scenes from the park, like ducks in the pond or an interesting looking tree.

A few months later there was another incident that further convinced me she preferred the company of woman.

_September 1__st__, 1867._

_Trina was working the tavern today and I took my pencils and sketchbook and went to the park. After a 20 minute walk I arrived at a serene but isolated area near the lake. It had been cloudy all day yesterday but the clouds were finally broke up letting the bright sun shine through. It was turning out to be a rather hot day. I took a moment to sniff a patch of flowers then sat down next to a tree. _

_The serenity that this place gave me was unmatched, as I sketched the old dock on the other side of the lake. About an hour later I heard the sound of an approaching horse. A moment later from around a tree came my friend Cat who was out riding on her favorite steed. _

_With a warm smile she greeted me and approached. _

_After dismounting from her horse she looked around, as if to see if anyone was around. _

"_Who are you looking for?" I asked. _

_With a sly grin Cat said, "I want to make sure we are unseen. I am too hot and need to cool down. I shall throw caution to the wind."_

_Then before my eyes she crouched down behind a bush and began to strip. I quickly gasped in horror at her carefully discarding her clothes. "What are you doing?" I asked._

_Cat let out a laugh. "Join me, Just a short dip. No one is ever at this end of the park. They always stay by the river at the other end. We will feel much refreshed."_

_Cat was always a bit more adventurous than I, but today I felt the adventurous spirit within in as well. Soon I was by her removing my clothes. As I did, my eyes wandered to Cat's soft pink skin. I had never been in her presence without clothes, and found the sight of her naked body gave me an odd sensation. It felt uncomfortable at first, but soon I felt strangely at peace being in the presence of another naked woman. We took a short dip in the lake and both quietly prayed that we would remain undisturbed. Fortunately we were not and both enjoyed our dip. I found myself wanting to do it again but with it being September the warm days ahead of us would not last long. That is all I have for today._

I tried to imagine Tori slowly stripping her clothes off next to the lake and soon found my hand sliding down my pants. I kept that delightful image in my head, as I retired to my room to pleasure myself.

There was a gap in the diaries until the next January. I guessed that some of the diary's had gotten lost at one point or another. I kept up with work, school and reading the diaries when I had the chance. I now was fairly certain my Tori was a lesbian. Though I noticed much to my disappointment, she would mention Beck from time to time. While she hadn't officially met him, she would hear of his trips. He had recently been to Egypt and seen the sphinx. She knew she was destined to marry him and would occasionally wonder what kind of man he was. Would he let her go to the park and sketch? Would he be kind and loving. I didn't like them at all.

The next summer was her 18th year and Tori in her entries seemed bright and cheerful. But I sensed in the writing that she yearend for something. Also a there was a sadness that lay hidden underneath it all. It was like she was afraid to even put it to paper. Like the mention of her wanting to be with a woman would condemn her to hell. She did attend church on a regular basis.

Was she a lesbian, was she bisexual or was she just another confused teenager who didn't quite know who they were?

An entry from May of 1868, quickly answered my questions.

_May 3__rd__, 1868_

_My apologies for waiting so long to enter anything. I usually end each night writing but I had been unable to express my feelings until now._

_At the very least when I burn in hell, the devil and I can perhaps take joy in reading my memoirs. Perhaps there are many of my heroes there. This week I was incredibly selfish, I confess. I had only made the pact to repress my urges not too long ago yet at the first true temptation I made no effort to resist._

_I suppose in truth I hadn't planned to be miserable forever. One can only deny themselves for so long. Though I did plan too object. I had always fully intended to most earnestly reject the first temptation at least once, even if only for show._

_I am disappointed in myself for that._

_Now, my faithful companion, that I have chastised myself I can go on to express my sin fully. (Perhaps in enough years what I am about to write will fade and all that will remain is the discipline I gave myself and then perhaps I shall foolishly be admired. Won't that be a laugh?)_

_Cat had been busy as of late. She often is, as she is of higher class than I. She has constant lessons in husband finding, or etiquette. I believe they work as she has many a suitor. Now it came about that her Aunt was visiting from London._

_At first it was surprising to see that she was in our lowly tavern but Cat wanted her to meet me. She was a highly trained tutor and it was an honor to be her student. The idea that she would for free was enough to send me into shock. I was more thankful I didn't. Far too many people strike dead before they get the chance to do anything worth doing. But simpletons doing the same one thing live on forever. I'd like to be somewhere in between. Just let me do something before taking my life? I don't need to be remembered I would just like to know. Well, at least let one other person know. Than I won't just lie to myself and get lazy_.

_Her name as Miss Amelia Bradford and when she introduced herself to me there was a strange sparkle in her eye that sent a tingle through my entire body. She said she would be happy to tutor me in the finer arts and told me I could start immediately._

_So as I had begun, my first week with the Mistress was beyond delightful. She was impressed with the etiquette I already had. She only taught me the minute details such as forks and knives._

_When we moved on to the arts, I decided to make a portrait of my mother._

_I was worried I was an atrocious artist and father had lied because after an hour of staring she said nothing._

_But then she spoke later that evening, when we were completely alone._

_She approached. "You care for women as men do, don't you?"_

_I blushed and I was ashamed that I made no attempt to lie. Damned my honest and good hearted nature._

_She just smirked and lounged back on her chaise. "Your mother's bosoms were too large... whether it's accurate or not you have to have an affinity to women to notice it."_

_"Erm... Mistress I apologize. I never meant to make it inappropriate."_

_"I was merely joking. Large bosoms in your art is obvious because she died. You missed nurturing."_

_My relief was far too audible. "Right. A fine joke."_

_"Well now I still believe you prefer women. It was just that I merely wanted you to know that your art didn't expose you."_

_She smirked and leaned in. Her finger found its way under my chin. Her eyes were auburn but with the sinister way her lips curled I swore they were crimson. A delightfully confident succubus and I was blissfully ensnared in her web. I couldn't move and even if I could, I wouldn't. All that moved in me was my racing heart._

_I wanted to ask what made it obvious. Part of me believes nothing made it obvious. Part of me believed that she was just confident enough it didn't matter what I liked. The old pervert down the road in love with sheep's would be no match._

_As I looked at her she was pretty. All wealthy women are pretty they easily afford perfection. If I was truly being honest her looks weren't much. Still, I had been yearning for a woman's soft touch and here it was._

_For a moment I was surprised. I should have been suspicious what if this was all a joke for the wealthy to have a laugh at a stupid woman loving poor girl._

_I lost all concern when her lips crashed against mine. I doubt anyone has ever submitted more earnestly._

_Each kiss she placed on my body awakened me and sent shivers down my spine. In the cacophony of moans, groans, and pleads that escaped my mouth I became more entrenched in my new life of sin and I had no desire for redemption. The pleasure of her soft lips gently gracing mine, was a pleasure beyond imagination._

_However, it was for not. Alas, my dear companion, after my week with her ended she made no claims to continue to see me. She left me with a final kiss and that was that. And perhaps I am a terrible person, darling friend, but I missed only the pleasure she brought me._

_That is all I can say for this night._

Upon reading the entry I stood up with a wide-eyed expression on my face, as I ran my hands through my thick black hair. I was totally blown away. There was absolutely no doubt what so ever.

Tori was a lesbian.

My heart raced at the mere thought of it. If there were some way I could race to her side, I would. But I found myself cursing the years that separated us.

This madness, this obsession that tears at my damaged heart. What purpose does it serve? I find myself wondering that from time to time. I could easily say and I do feel that it's true that only she could restore me. But sadly, a single strand of hair is all i have of her.

And that's all I'll ever have.

So in the end I ask. Why did I have to fall for her?

The answer to that question, much like Tori herself, will certainly elude me.

**The next chapter will probably be out at the end of the week. I hope you're enjoying the story.**

**My thanks to 27milestogo for their help in writing this chapter.**


	5. A spiders web

**Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years**

**Chapter 5 – A spiders web.**

**For this chapter, Jade will read more about Tori's life. Instead of it being a number of journal entries, I will present it as a cohesive narrative. So we are essentially following along as Jade reads. **

**Tori's POV**

It is now July of the year of our lord 1868. Some two months after my experience with Miss Bradford. I knew it was wrong and sinful, but I simply couldn't resist. It was as if every part of my body and soul wanted it. While it lasted, I felt alive, more alive than I had ever felt. But now she has returned to her home and I'm left with only memories and guilt.

I sinned and I know it. Every Sunday since, I have gone to church and prayed for forgiveness. Prayed that I yield not to such infernal temptations again. But I fail sometimes. Now such unearthly forces have been unleashed, I've found myself thinking unholy thoughts about other women. I must resist for the sake of my own soul.

I dare not tell anyone about these experiences and feelings. Not even Cat, my closest friend, can I divulge this too. Now I feel sad and alone. I can't help it.

My father has been mentioning Beckett Oliver a lot more recently. He's due back from an extensive trip abroad soon and I am to meet my future husband for the first time. I wish I could feel more enthusiasm about this. But I can't.

I can't blame my father, he only wishes me to marry well. The fortunes of my father's family have waned in recent years and he only wishes to restore the status of his children by having them marry well. I can only hope to be happy in this marriage to a man I've never met. But deep down, I'm not sure if I could be happy married to any man.

2 weeks ago, father took Trina and I to London to see a production of a new play called of all things "Play" by playwright Thomas William Robertson. It was a grand night and we dressed in our finest and took the carriage to the Prince of Wales Theatre on Charlotte Street.

All was fine that summer evening, until the intermission. As we mingled in the lobby with the other theatre goers I spotted Miss Bradford. The object of my runaway passion was on the other side of the lobby speaking with some upper class woman that I didn't recognize. My heart as of its own accord, started to beat furiously upon seeing her. What I saw next quickly dragged my spirits back to earth.

Miss Bradford was in the presence of a young woman of my age. She was a woman with sandy brown hair, pleasant figure and a large bosom, which my eyes were brought too like a magnet. She was standing close to Miss Bradford but said little.

For a moment I watched her eye Miss Bradford with a look I knew all too well. It was a look of sinful hunger. It was subtle of course, but to me unmistakable. I'm sure officially she was Miss Bradford's latest pupil. In reality, she was much more I'm sure.

I had done my best to push Miss Bradford out of my mind, but seeing that other girl with her, raised a jealous monster in me that I hadn't known even existed. Had that young woman looked at me, she would have seen a look of hatred unlike no other. I wanted to be in that's woman's place.

The attendant rang the bell a few moments later, indicating the intermission was almost over and we all walked inside. As we did, Miss Bradford briefly looked in my direction and for a moment our eyes met. Seeing her eyes once again focused on me, sent a tingle through my entire body. Once again I longed for her gentle touch.

But the look only was for an instant. She gave me a polite smile and a curt nod, which I returned. A moment later, she and her companion vanished into the crowd.

It was an all to brief foray into heaven and once again I found myself plunged into the depths of hades. It only furthered do lower my spirits even more. Fortunately I managed to put on a very convincing smile. Since my brief liason with Miss Bradford, I've been wearing that all too convincing smile quiet a lot.

It is now August of 1868 and my sister Trina has just announced her engagement to Captain Ian Haverford, the grandson of Major General Sir Charles Haverford. My father having served under General Haverford for a time, had like in my case arranged a marriage between the families. They are to be married in December of this year.

A party was held at the Haverford estate, just outside of London in honor of the recent engagement. Before we had left, father had told me that Beckett Oliver would be in attendance and we would meet for the first time. For the occasion I picked my nicest dress and took extra time to make myself presentable for my future husband. Though I wanted to muster more excitement for the occasion, I could find little in myself. I feel torn about all of this.

We arrived at the party and while my sister spend time greeting the various well wishers, I was presented to my future husband. I'll admit I found the sight of him not all that displeasing. He was tanned and well built, with a pleasant smile and thick black hair. It had been a fear of mine that he would look something of a pig.

He was polite and greeted me with the utmost courtesy, taking the time to kiss my hand.

"Your beauty is far beyond any description that has been given to me. For you are in league with Aphrodite no less."

I couldn't help but blush at such a wonderful description of me. I'll admit that I hadn't really thought of my self as a great beauty.

"Thank you ever so much Beckett. I've heard much of your travels to such far off exotic places."

"Victoria, Beckett is so formal. Please call me Beck. After all we are to be married."

After conversing for a time with both my father and his parents carefully watching we were left alone. One could tell that they were eager to see how we hit it off. The conversation was pleasant and as men goes, he was rather charming.

A short while later we were left alone, though I knew that eyes would still be firmly upon us. He asked if I would like to take a stroll on the patio so see the moon. I accepted, hoping to make the best of this situation.

It's hard to imagine I was finally with Beckett Oliver. Soon I will be married to this man. I had only heard of him throughout my life. Mostly that he was traveling all over the world and seeing many exotic places.

Eager to learn about his travels I asked him to tell me about them. He talked about the snow in Sweden. The fine art in Italy. He even told me of his time in an opium den in China. It was so exciting.

When we are wed he spoke of his plans to show me the true beauty of this world. Then he spoke of how it still would fail to hold a candle to me. I'll admit he made me blush. He is just so charming and he is handsome. I like him best for being a clean shaven sort with an almost delicate appearance though he still maintains a rather rugged air.

I don't hold the same attraction for him that I do for a certain female whose name I dare not write, for it will send shivers along my whole body. Still, I am beginning to believe that in time I good grow to be quite content being Mrs. Beck Oliver.

**No One's POV.**

"_Still, I am beginning to believe that in time I good grow to be quite content being Mrs. Beck Oliver." _

Jade read that final sentence of the entry with some dismay. Through the journals and the few meager possessions of Tori's she owned, she felt close to Tori. She felt terrible that Tori couldn't express her sexuality as one could today. But on top of that she was being pushed into an arranged marriage.

She was at work and during a break she was reading another one of the journals. Everything at work had gone as normal, except recently Sikowitz had had her pick up some supplies for mice. So she had gone and gotten some cages, food, water bottle excreta. As normal, Jade didn't bother to ask what it was all for.

Though she wasn't happy how things were turning out, Jade kept on reading. She had to keep on reading. She just had to know what happened.

The next several months, Tori and Beck courted in the usual manor. Most of their dates of course were chaperoned, either by Tori's father or Beck's parents. Though several of the dates were at upper class parties. Jade could tell that Tori, while not in love with Beck or very excited by him, had come to gradually accept him as her future husband. She had found this as an avenue for her to resist those unholy urges. Ultimately Jade concluded that Tori felt trapped and going through with the marriage was the only way out.

But Jade, as she kept reading, was to find that those urges of Tori's didn't just go away.

**Tori's POV**

By mid October Beckett and I had the date for our wedding picked out. We are to be married on Saturday July 10th, 1869. I've met Becks' parents on a number of occasions and found them to be nice, though a bit dull. I've been told that Beck has a Brother named Richard, who is currently serving as 1st Lieutenant in the British Army. But he is away and thus I haven't met him. Beck himself is frequently away. When not courting me, he has been engaged by his father to run one of the families business. His primarily responsiblity is overseeing and running a prosperous trading house.

Beck frequently comes in the tavern that my father owns. I've found that he seems to enjoy playing card's with some of the other patrons and seems to wager from time to time. Though he is engaged to me, he does seem to attract attention from the other women in the village. He says while it does flatter him, his eyes are only for me.

We had a lovely walk in the park today, followed by dinner with him and his parents at the rather large Oliver mansion.

After a day with my beau I was certain I was making strides in conquering my perversions. However, it would be on such a day I received an invitation to spend a weekend with Miss Bradford.

Apparently it was felt by my father and Becket's parents that I needed to be educated on finer points of being a wife and a lady's proper place in society. Her reputation for educating young women in finer points of etiquette and grace, were well known and they engaged her for such a task. Normally my mother would have told me such things but she has been gone for several years. Upon learning of the invitation my heart immediately started to race.

I had no idea what it would or could mean, but just the thought of being with her, filled me with those sinful thoughts.

Two weeks later I found myself and my bag's standing in front of Miss Bradford's large house. As her footman took my bag's and led me inside, I once again felt like a fly wandering into a spiders web. My deepest and most sinful thoughts involved getting thoroughly caught in that particular web.

Upon arriving she greeted me politely, showing now sign of our previous encounter. She then laid out the various subjects I was to learn this weekend. Such as how to properly host a party, and the duties of the wife of such an important person such as Beckett Oliver.

My first lesson was that evening at dinner, as we ate she explained the various types of functions that I would be required to deal with. But all the while she spoke, I found myself looking at her lips. I wanted those lips to once again grace my skin. But seeing her seriousness of the subject at hand I pushed it away and focused on my lesson.

Upon the completion of the last course and the lesson for that evening, she dismissed the servants for the evening.

We retired to a drawing room and for a time discussed my wedding plans. It was to be held at the Oliver estate. Afterward it would be my and Beck's home. His parents at that point were moving to a different house in Kent. As always, I spoke of such plans with enthusiasm. Though deep down I wasn't really so.

At one point she got up and stoked the fire in the fire place. But instead of sitting back down on the chair she had been sitting, she sat down on the couch rather close to me. I'm not sure but, I'm sure my face flushed immediately.

"You're a beautiful woman and your husband should be proud to have you as his wife." She said gazing into my eyes.

"Thank you, Miss Bradford."

"Amelia. Now that is just you and I. Please call me Amelia." She paused for a moment and with a strange smug look she inched closer. "Tell me, when you saw me and my companion at the play, was that a look of jealousy on your face."

I instantly froze, I was certain neither Amelia or her companion saw my brief look of hatred. My mouth parted slightly but no sound came from it, but a small gasp.

Amelia smiled and gently put her thin soft fingers on my leg. "You can answer me Victoria Were you jealous of my companion?"

Once again I was at her mercy and all I wanted to do was give in. "Yes."

Her smile quickly grew as her hand slowly crawled up my leg. The feeling from it, sent the most wonderful tingles all through my body. Why is it that the touch of a female does such things to me, send my thoughts so into the depths. Once again I'm giving in to sin.

"You've wanted me to kiss you. Haven't you. Is that why you keep staring at my lips"

All I could do was nod in agreement.

A moment later, she leaned in gracefully pressed her lips against mine. I felt like the earth suddenly moved. This one simple action set my soul ablaze with desire. I quickly fell into temptation and kissed back.

After a wondrous kiss, she broke it and stood up. "Come on, Victoria it is late. We must retire."

I felt somewhat disappointed at the fact that she was calling it a night, the look on my face must have been noticeable.

"Yes. Amelia."

"Come on, follow me."

She took a candelabra and led me upstairs to what I guessed would be a guest bedroom. But much to my surprise, she led me into what appeared to be the master suite.

I stood there, a stunned look on my face, not even able to think as she shut the door behind us. As I had only imagined, I was now firmly in her web. With a desirous look she moved around the front of me.

She then gently planted a kiss under my jaw and smiled. "Tonight, we shall share a bed. Much like a husband and wife would. It will help you prepare for what is to come. You are a special pupil and shall receive special instruction. Now prepare for bed."

Now besides my heart racing, my hands trembled. Even if I wanted to flee the room I couldn't. Though I had no desire to do so.

"My bedclothes?" I said quietly.

Amelia gracefully slid out of her dress. "Not needed. Here let me help you."

I stood there quietly as she slowly undressed me. With each passing second I became more full of desire, but at the same time nervousness.

Seeing that I was trembling, she gently kissed me and took my hand. "Fear not, for a woman's' touch is the most gentle and graceful of all."

With a warm smile she gently took my hand and led to the bed. Soon we were both under the covers of her large four poster bed.

She ran a hand through my long brown hair. "To please a husband, you must know the ways of love. Do you wish to know such things?"

I nodded.

She then moved on top of me, now the spider had gotten its prey. I never felt more alive than I had at that moment. "Then I shall teach you."

A thought occurred to me and a look of horror came to my face. "If I'm not a virgin, he will not marry me, I will be disgraced."

Amelia immediately sought to calm my fears. "You will remain a virgin and will be on your wedding night. Now give yourself to me and we shall commence."

I gave my consent and she poured her kisses onto me. Long into the night, our bodies tangled as she taught me all she knew about love. Three times she had brought me to ecstasy with just her sweet tongue and the experience was beyond anything I could imagine. Though I was with a woman and preferred to be, she did explain how my husband and I would make love. I did not find it appealing. Wanting to bring her to the heights of joy as she did me, I followed her instruction and did the same to her.

I don't think I had ever felt so close to anyone in my life as I had that night. When our "lesson" was done, she carefully slipped me into her arms where I drifted off to peaceful sleep.

The next morning I woke to find her gone, and my clothes for the day laid on the foot of the bed. I dressed and combed my hair and went to breakfast. Again it was as if the lesson of the previous night hadn't occurred, but that was probably because the servants were present.

We spent the day with her giving me long laborious lessons on how to be a proper wife. It was long and boring and the only lesson I could think of was the one that I had hoped would come that evening. The one where I would know the beautiful touch of a woman. Not once during that day, did she even give the slightest hint of what happened the previous night.

Sure enough a the end of the day she once again took me into her bed, where I happily received more instruction on how to please my husband. Though at the time, my mind was firmly focused on pleasing the woman I was with.

I knew I would be damned for the deeds I had performed those past two nights, but I simply didn't care. I had never felt so right, so perfectly loved.

But sadly it had to end. The next day was Sunday, the day I had to leave. A part of me wanted to stay, but I knew perfectly well that I was only a pupil. With lowered spirits, I suspected another pupil would replace me in no time. Though I bore no Ill will to Amelia Bradford. In fact, I was grateful for her instruction. But still I remained very sad at my having to depart.

As I stood before the carriage ready to leave, she gave me a strange look of sadness. I thought I was the only was so sad on this day.

She gave me a kiss on the cheek as she shed a single tear. "You've been a wonderful pupil. I shall miss you. You are a true beauty."

I shed a tear myself. "Thank you. I wish I could say more, but words escape me. What of you next? I saw trunks being delivered today."

Her look grew solemn "I am off to Paris to teach the finer young women of Paris and shall be gone some time. I shall think of you, more often than most. I know you don't love him and I am truly sorry. But we must make the best of what life gives us. Goodbye Victoria."

I have her a hug, hoping to smell her sweet fragrance one last time. "Goodbye Amelia."

Somehow I sensed our paths would never cross again. Judging by the sorrow filled look on her face, I got the impression she had gotten the same feeling. Not only that, but I sensed that maybe I was more than just a pupil. At least for a wonderful pair of nights.

As the wagon took me away I cried, not only for the fact that I was leaving happiness behind but the fact that a man I didn't love was waiting for me. Also waiting for me was a life where I would never again know the touch of a woman.

**No One's POV**

Jade was crying by the time she finished that entry. It was heartbreaking and sad. Never had she felt so much for Tori and what she had been through.

Putting down the journal, Jade walked around all the junk that was piled in the old record store trying to compose herself.

"Are you ok?" Sikowitz said as he poked his head out of the door leading to his lab. The one Jade hadn't been in yet.

Jade wiped her tears and nodded. "I'm fine. I was just thinking of something sad. What do you need?"

"Jade. You've been a good and trustworthy worker in these last several weeks. I think it's time I take you into my confidence. Show you what this is all about."

Jade was rather surprised that the somewhat paranoid Sikowitz, would trust her. "Ok. Then show me."

Sikowitz lead Jade through the door in the back past the bathrooms to the door to his lab.

"This is something to do with wormholes, correct?"

"Yes" Sikowitz said as he opened the door.

He led jade into a large room. The room itself was filled with all kinds of computers and strange looking electronic equipment. But the biggest feature was a large device shaped roughly like an upside down U. It had all kinds of wires leading out to various pieces of equipment in the room. Sitting underneath the upside down u was what looked like a large wicker basket, like you'd see in hot air balloon. A cable ran from the top of the basket into the U.

With a look of pride Sikowitz patted his hand on the large device. "You're wondering what this is?"

"Yeah"

"It's a time machine."

Jade stood there with a rather unimpressed look. "Yeah right and I'm Professor Who."

Sikowitz grunted in annoyance. "It's called Doctor who."

"Whatever." Jade said dismissively.

Shaking his head. "This really works and uses worm holes to travel through time. A worm hole normally is an opening between two different points in space. What my device does, is open a wormhole between the same point in space but two different points in time. Underneath the upside down U is where the wormhole opens up. On the floor below the basket. Once the wormhole is open, I can lower a basket down through the hole. The other end of the hole will be in this very same room at the ceiling in another time. So once the basket is lowered into the other time, you step out and you can explore.

Jade understood what he was saying but immediately dismissed his idea as nuts.

"Think of the possibilities" He said proudly as he went into a long explanation behind the theory of it all.

But as to not to offend his employer, Jade listened and pretended to not think he was totally nuts. Time travel was the stuff of bad science fiction and Jade hated science fiction.

She momentarily thought of Tori, but quickly dismissed it. No point in getting hopes up for something that wasn't possible. Over a hundred years separated them and no force in the universe could change it. It was a very sad fact and one Jade relucantly accepted.

Jade held out her hand as a thought came to her. "Uh...ok. The wormhole opens on the floor and you lower a basket down it into the other time. Wouldn't it be much easer if you opened on the wall and you just walked through."

Sikowitz pulled his head back as if baffled. "Why would I want to do that. The Basket is much more fun. You get to ride down in it."

"Of course, it has to be fun." Jade said somewhat acidly.

"Now, in case you're interested, I will eventually like to try on a human subject. I'm trying my tests with mice and so far they've been good. They don't come back frozen anymore or explode. If you would like to add time traveler to your resume, I can of course give you a raise."

Not wanting explode or come bak Jade quickly shook her head. "No thanks. I think I'll just be your errand girl. No offense."

"None taken. Just remember to not tell anyone. That's all I ask."

Jade suddenly wanted to get out of there. Already feeling sad due to Tori's situation she just wanted to go home. "It's late and if you don't mind I'll head home. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

A few minutes later Jade was riding the subway home. She kept thinking about that ridiculous contraption and how it would probably just blow up half the building.

"Note to self. Be far away when he test's that thing. Like in Australia or the far east. Very far away." Jade muttered.

The whole thought of traveling through time seemed absurd. But then again, Jade thought, so was marrying a man you don't love.

With that thought in mind, Jade rode home.

**Note: The Prince of Wales Theatre on Charlotte Street was later renamed the Scala theatre. It was torn down in 1969. It however can be seen in the concert sequences in the Beatles film "A Hard Day's Night."**

**The play that they describe going to "Play" By Thomas William Robertson, did in fact run at the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1868. **

**As always I must thank 27milestogo for their help in writing this story. Not to mention they had the original story idea.**


	6. Possibilities

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years**

**Chapter 6 – Possibilities **

**Another long one, but it is a very important chapter.**

**Jade's POV**

There was a gap in the journal books that went from November of 1868 to March of 1869. I do know that Tori's sister Trina married in December of 1868.

By May of 1869, the wedding preparations were in full swing. Tori had her dress fitted and picked her brides maids. They were her sister Trina, her friend Cat and Susan Moore a cousin of hers. Many of the journal entries went over the details of the wedding which Tori seemed to write with little enthusiasm.

As the wedding got closer and closer she made an effort not to mention her attraction to women. I think she's trying to push it out of her mind. She speaks of going to church a lot in those days. Her husband to be is mentioned frequently. But he is also reported to be in London, working at the Trading house frequently. Tori says he works late hours sometimes and thus has a small room near his work where he can sleep. That saves him from having to travel all the way back to Oliver manor when he is tired.

He's also joined one of those exclusive clubs that they talk about. Men sitting around smoking cigars, talking business, playing cards, that sort of thing. It's called the Hallcroft club and Beck also seems to spend a lot of time there as well.

Much to my dismay, Beck does have some effect on Tori. He always seems to go out of his way to be charming and gracious. He regularly gives her compliments and little gifts. She spoke of a tiny carved figurine he had brought back from China he had given her. I actually found a small carved figure of an elephant in the chest with Tori's stuff. It looks oriental and that must be the gift.

When he works his charms and fills her with his sweet talk, she becomes more receptive to marrying him. I find myself not liking him. Not simply because he's engaged to Tori, but I get the impression he's a phony. The words, silver-tongued devil, come to mind. Tori though she doesn't love him, believes he truly is a great guy. She further believes she can grow to love him. So in that respect she is grateful she's marrying a handsome, adventurous, intelligent, charming and honest man. I think she's being a bit naive.

_June 22nd, 1869. _

_Beck came calling today and took me for an early evenings walk through the park. The full moon was out and it was in fact very romantic. It had been the first I'd seen him in nearly a week. His work with the trading house taking up so much of his time. He told me that my beauty was even more enhanced by the glimmering light of the moon. He likes to say I'm pretty and how charming I am. It feels good to be complemented so often. It helps me know that I will come to love him and will be happy as his wife. I tell myself that I'm am just nervous and once that is past and settle into the role of wife, I will come to enjoy it. The way he looks at me, he does seem truly smitten. _

_He speaks of the wonderful parties we shall have and how I will meet all the upper crust of British society. He speaks of travels we shall make. He has a way with words. I find myself getting caught up in it. That give me hope._

In the weeks and days up to the wedding she kept telling herself that. That she would fall and they would live happily ever after. But I could read between the lines, as I knew her now. Deep down she was depressed and she felt trapped. The whole situation depressed the hell out of me.

In that time I realized the photo I have was of her in her wedding dress. It was taken a week before the wedding. Hence that vague look of sadness that I picked up on when I first saw it.

Tori was married to Beckett Oliver on July 10th, 1869, in a ceremony that took place at a church near the Oliver estate.

_July 10th, 1869._

_Today I am Mrs. Beckett Oliver. The marriage took place St. Andrew's Church which on the outer edge of Herford. It is a bigger and more opulent church than St. Michaels, which is my parish. Thankfully it was a bright and sunny day and all arrangements went off without a hitch. The party at the Oliver mansion afterward was a grand celebration. I even met a distant Cousin of Queen Victoria, plus several members of Parliament. _

_All the well-wishers were very kind and accepting. My father even pulled out his old uniform and put it on for the occasion. Though he filled it out a bit more than he used to. I can't help but feel some sadness as my mother could not at least see me be wed. _

_Now I can go on with my life and be happy. Push those sinful thoughts away forever._

Though Tori sounded upbeat and happy in her entry, I knew she really wasn't. She was probably more depressed that I was once I realized she had been married. At least I could go quietly to the pub and get drunk and I did just that.

As I expected she found the sex less than satisfying.

_July 11th, 1869_

_We were so exhausted after the wedding that we both fell sound asleep as soon as we retired to bed. Today was our first day of man and wife. We went riding for a time and spent time packing for our honeymoon. His father rented a small castle in Scotland._

_He is sleeping now as I write this. Only a short while ago we consummated our marriage. I was hoping it would be more like with Bradford. But his touch was rough and did not make my heart stir. The sex was painful and I bled some. Strangely those compliments he would so often give me were lacking during our lovemaking. But I did my duty and performed as any wife should. But that's all it was a duty. I made love to my lawfully wedded husband which in the eyes of God is without sin. But why do I feel so empty….why do I long for a softer touch…why do I feel disgusted by his touch. Like all things in this marriage, I'm sure I'll grow accustomed to it._

Tori wrote sparsely in the period after the wedding. She did write again how sex with Beck felt like a chore and nothing else.

Tori settled into the Oliver estate and his parents had moved out. Tori found herself living in the large home with all these servants. She felt a bit overwhelmed at first but managed to adapt.

They threw a few large parties and did hobnob with the rich, but it didn't take long for Beck's true colors to start showing. For starters he would spend many nights working late. On those ones he'd stay at his small apartment near the Trading house. He did explain that the business was quite large and needed a lot of attention to be run properly. He also took a few business trips to various parts of the country.

Beck would spend a lot of time at the club and most of that time was spent gambling. By December of 1869, Tori realized that Beck gambled very frequently. Another thing she quickly noticed that many a night he would come home stumbling drunk. She as a proper wife dared not to bring such things up to him. What she did learn was by correspondence he would leave on his desk from time to time. They were notes detailing money he owed in gambling debts.

Tori at first didn't think much of it at first. But as his true colors started to show, he at the same time seemed to lose interest in a way. Gradually Tori felt more and more alone. Even when he was there. Besides being distant, he seemed to resent her presence slightly. Tori did best as she could. She spend many an hour riding her horse or drawing. She spent many an hour in the library reading books and occasionally making social calls to neighbors. Though none of them she considered a close friend.

Much to my further dismay, in early 1870, Tori realized she was pregnant. It temporarily lifted her spirits, but not all that much. In fact they fell even further when Tori began to suspect that Beck had a mistress.

It started with him finding that his jacket smelled faintly of perfume. A perfume that she did not recognize. At this point she started to pay attention to the rumors and talk around her and through bits and pieces she would hear from various people in the town and talk by the servants it became clear.

_May 12th, 1870_

_I wonder if my husband will be home at all this week. He claims that work has been keeping him very very busy. But these days, he seems to find any excuse not to want to be around me. I had such hopes that I could find happiness in this marriage if I only tried. But now I find only loneliness and misery. It's as if my swollen belly repulses him. I've seen him avert his eyes when I've undressed in the privacy of our room. I ask him to at least take me out to a play or some function. I've hardly gone out at all since I found I was with child. But he says that a woman who is with child should remain in the home and it is not proper to go out in such a condition. _

_I suspect if I was with him, he could not do what HE wants to do. Drink, gamble or spend time with Her. Once he poured attention and compliments on me, now he seems to resent me. _

_The only light in my day was when I was reading around mid-day. I felt my baby kick for the first time. I felt alive for the first time in weeks. He wants it to be a boy, but I wish it to be a girl. I want a daughter. _

_That is all for today._

As Tori's pregnancy progressed, Beck in fact seemed to not want to even touch her. Tori quickly fell into a depressed state. She used to be able to go out and ride a horse or wander in the park, but as her pregnancy got into the advanced stages she could do little. My beautiful Tori was miserable and alone. I hated reading these entries. A lot of days she wouldn't write anything. Probably because she was to depressed to write or simply had nothing to say. Her baby was her only hope for any kind of happiness. Her selfish, cheating bastard of a husband certainly wasn't bringing her any.

_August 17th, 1870_

_It was dreadfully hot today. But the heat is hardly the thing that makes me the most miserable. The midwife says I'm due in weeks if not days but something feels off. I've barely felt anything move inside of me recently. She assures me everything will be fine. I'd talk to my husband, if he were ever here. He's in London on business again._

_I know about the gambling at the Hallcroft club. A friendly game of card's Beck would say for a small wager, whenever I would bring it up. He's probably there now, involved in another "friendly wager". I wonder how much he'll lose tonight. He tries to hide it from me, but I've seen one or two pieces of correspondence recently where he's pledging to make good on his debts. I've heard him arguing with his father begging for more money. But beyond the gambling is the drinking. I worked in an inn and seen many a drunkard. Beck is merely a higher class drunkard who can handle his liquor a bit better. _

_But the worst part is when I overhear the servant's referring to "Her" They speak in whispered tones amongst themselves as they spread the household gossip. I didn't want to believe it or even listen to it at first, but I eventually could see the truth. He has a mistress in London. If he's not at the club gambling, he's in her arms. He pledged to love and cherish me. He seems to prefer her company over mine. I married him, hoping I would fall for him and be happy. Now I sit alone day after day, in this huge house which feels more like a tomb. His parents have been down in Kent at their home there. So other than the servants and the occasional visit from my "Loving" husband, I'm alone. My dearest friend Cat, is now living up in Hampshire with her husband and I seldom get to see her. My sister Trina now resides in India where her husband is now stationed. I am alone._

_The servants treat me with the utmost courtesy, but I see the sad look of sympathy in their faces. I'm trapped here, pregnant with his child and married to him. How I was so stupid to be blinded by his tender charms and silver tongue. Now I can see him as he is. _

_It's a burden I must bear. Soon at least I'll have a son or daughter to dote over and keep my mind off things. It will make it easier for me to pretend that all is well. Perhaps all will be well, people do change. _

_I feel ill again. I felt ill yesterday and hoped to feel better, but I feel even worse today. I think I'll retire early. Escape into my dreams where I have someone to love me and things will be better._

_**No One's POV**_

More of the same Jade thought. This asshole Beck marries her and now ignores her, while he gambles and sleeps around. Jade wanted to reach out and stab him repeatedly with her favorite pair of scissors.

Jade turned the page to read the next entry, but the page was blank.

"Blank…Blank? How could it be blank." Jade said with surprise. Flipping through the rest of the book, she realized that all the pages were also blank. Quickly, Jade picked up the last three volumes in the box and much to her horror realized.

They were all blank. There wasn't so much as a mark in any of them.

"No…No…No…No…. You can't do this to me. Tori I love you. Please don't stop." Jade said, feeling as if she had lost a lover. She rummaged around the objects that were in the chest, but they gave her no clue as to what happened next.

Then Jade remembered what the antique store clerk had said, that the picture and all this other stuff was found in the basement and had been forgotten. Not to mention that the items in the box appeared to have been deposited in it with little care. Jade suddenly had a very bad feeling. She needed to know what happened next.

Jade made a quick internet search on Victoria Oliver but found too many entries. She really didn't know anything about genealogy and realized she needed an expert. It was late, being past 11 so Jade went to bed and tried to sleep. It took her more than an hour to do so and then it was a very restless sleep, as Tori's fate, weighed heavily on her mind.

She dreamt she was in a fog and Tori was calling out to her, but for all her searching Jade could not find Tori. Eventually the voice simply faded away.

The next morning by asking around, she was able to find out the name of the local town historian. She was an elderly woman named Mrs. Givers and volunteered to find out what happened. Jade paid her extra to do it as a rush.

"Why do you need this as a rush?" Mrs. Givers said with a puzzled look.

"I just need to know. Please." Jade pleaded.

Mrs. Givers nodded. "Ok, I'll go down and start on it right away. I'll call you when I find out."

It was several hours later when her phone rang.

"Hello."

"Hello Miss West. I found the information you were looking for. I'm down at the library."

"Great. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Jade tore out of the building just as she felt a drop of rain hit her forehead. It had begun to rain and by the looks of the clouds in the distance; it was going to storm soon. Not caring of the rain, Jade ran as fast as she could to the library.

She found Mrs. Givers at a table with a number of papers and documents on it.

"Hello Mrs., Givers. Tell me. What happened to Tori." Jade said, cutting to the chase.

"You said the last entry was August 17th, 1870, correct?"

Jade nodded. She felt a sense of worry and it only seemed to be growing more distinct. "Yes. There were no more.

"That would make sense." Mrs. Givers said.

"Why?"

"Because she died August 18th, 1870."

Jade suddenly felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Her knees suddenly went weak and she had to hold the edge of the table to keep herself from collapsing. On top of that, she felt a tightness in her chest.

"What happened?" Was all the completely devastated Jade could say.

"I'm afraid she died in childbirth. The baby was a stillbirth and Victoria bled to death." Mrs. Givers said sadly.

Suddenly stricken with grief, Jade sat down in a chair. For a moment she imagined her beloved Tori lying in bed, screaming in pain. It was simply too much for Jade to bear. A thought occurred to her. "What about her husband?"

"He was in London and arrived back at the home the next day, according to the newspaper. The only person with her was a midwife."

"He wasn't even there. You mean she died alone? No family or friends with her. No one to hold her hand." Jade merely hated Beck before, now she utterly despised him.

As impossible as it was, Jade didn't want to believe it. Through the journal, Jade had gotten to know her so well. Though separated by time she felt as if their hearts beat as one. Before this, Jade would have never subscribed to such romantic nonsense, but now she felt the real sharp pain of loss in her heart.

"I'm sorry my dear. I remember my grand mum telling me about one of the Oliver's being a rather scandalous sort of fellow. Her husband Beckett was probably one she was talking about. I did some research on him."

"I knew he drank, gambled and had a mistress."

"Yes, after Victoria died, he married his mistress 2 months later. The marriage lasted about 4 or 5 years. He then left her and married yet another woman. But by then he had been disinherited by his father. In 1883 he sailed for Australia, running from his creditors apparently. The ship he was on was reported to have been lost at sea in a storm. Only some floating wreckage was found, no sign of survivors."

"Why was he disinherited?"

"He had gambled away a lot of the family's money, ran up huge debts and severely damaged their reputation. One newspaper reported that he had been accused of embezzling from the family businesses in order to cover his gambling debts and support his mistresses. He had a number of affairs and ruined the reputation of more than one young girl. They had to sell off a number off assets to cover his debts. What was left went to his older brother Richard, who was in the Army. Richard then returned home and managed what was left. But the family's fortunes quickly declined after that. Richard's son was a very promising sort of fellow, there was talk of him running for Parliament for a time. But he died in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The last male heir died in 1947, but by the family was near broke. When the last Oliver died in 1987 the mansion was all that was left and that was falling apart. Even that's gone now."

Jade couldn't believe what she heard. "He ruined her. He destroyed her. Barely in the ground and he marries his mistress. That bastard." Jade hissed.

"I looked it up Miss West. Victoria is buried in the church yard of St. Michaels." St. Michaels was one of those old churches with a graveyard directly next to it.

Already reeling, those words hit Jade like a hammer. "St. Michaels?" Jade gasped.

"Yes, that's correct."

A tear ran down Jade's face. "She was so close to me all the time."

"I don't take your meaning dear."

"I live directly across the street from St. Michaels. I can see the graveyard from my bedroom window. I remember liking the view."

"Oh…I see. Are you going to be alright dear?"

Jade stood up as another tear ran down her face. "I'm just very shaken up. Thank you Mrs. Givers."

"You're welcome dear. I'll type this up for you. I have it for you tomorrow."

Jade nodded blankly. "Thank you. I…I…I need to go."

As Jade emerged outside the rain had turned into a steady downpour with the rumblings of thunder becoming ever closer. But Jade ignored the rain and ran home as she began to cry. Getting there, she rushed into the graveyard she had looked down on so many times.

As the rain slowly soaked her to the skin, Jade searched franticly amongst the weathered gravestones.

Then she saw the stone. The name jumped out at her and seemed to stab her right in the heart. It was a simple grave stone, old and weathered. A piece of the top had broken off at some point and it had a few lichens clinging to its surface. With a broken heart and her tears flowing much like the rain that around her, Jade fell to her knees in front of the grave.

After a moment, she traced the words with her pale wet fingers.

_Here lies Victoria Oliver. Wife of Beckett Oliver. Born June 3rd, 1850 – Died August 18th, 1870. _

"NO!" Jade cried out in rage. Her cry would have been heard, had it not been drown out by a distant clap of thunder.

So bright, so beautiful, so caring, so miserable, so lonely. Jade couldn't help but think of the Tori she had gotten to know. It was so unfair. She died in childbirth at the age of 20 years. Jade had figured that Tori was long dead, but not like this. This was far too cruel.

Jade, now beside herself with grief, continued to sob at the grave. It was over, her story was over and there was nothing she could do about it. Jade wanted to take Tori into her arms and hold this beautiful woman. Tell her how special she was, something that worthless excuse of a husband never did.

"It's not fair….It's not fair…." Jade said as she pounded on the soaking wet ground.

Then a thought skipped across her mind. It was the words of Professor Sikowitz. "imagine the possibilities." What if it worked? He has been testing it on animals, Jade thought.

Soaked to the bone, Jade got herself back up and struck her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Possibilities. That's it." A smile came to the Goth's face.

Jade then stood up and spoke to the grave. "Tori. You don't know me. But I love you. You've been dead almost 150 years and I love you. I need to be with you. Take you away from this place. Love you as you should be loved. You here in this grave, dead at the age of 20 years. It doesn't have to end this way and it's not going too….I swear to god. If this works, none of this will have ever happened. I'm coming."

Having no further business in a rainy church yard, the Goth turned on her heel and walked away. As she did, a single word kept running through her head.

"Possibilities."


	7. Groovy

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years**

**Chapter 7 - Groovy**

**No One's POV**

Jade instead of going home, went straight to Sikowitz's lab. When she arrived she was drenched and covered in mud, but that hardly mattered to her. She was on a mission.

It was a Saturday and she wasn't due to work, so understandably Sikowitz was rather surprised as Jade burst into the lab.

"Tell me." Jade then pointed to the machine. "Does this thing actually work? I need to know. Can I go back in time?"

Sikowitz stood there, rather surprised by Jade's sudden interest in the machine. The fact that she was dripping wet only added to his confusion. "Yes. I've run tests. It works. Why the sudden interest?"

Jade wiped some rain from her forehead and sat down, a look of fierce determination on her face.. "Because he's an asshole. Because while he drank and slept with his mistress, Tori died alone in misery and pain. No one there to hold her hand. No one was there to tell her how special and beautiful she was."

Now Sikowitz was confused. "I don't follow."

"It's simple. I'll be your guinea pig. I'll be your test subject for this machine. All I ask for is one thing in return. You have to let me go back and stop a wedding."

Sikowitz scratched his head. "When did this wedding take place?"

"1869"

Seeing the still confused look on his face, Jade went back to the beginning and told the whole story. From the finding of the picture to the revelation that Tori in fact had died in childbirth, Jade told the tale. All the while Sikowitz listened carefully, one hand under his chin.

Upon finishing her story, Jade stood up. She was still very upset and agitated. "I know you're going to lecture me about not changing the past and all that timeline bullshit. I don't care. Tori was or is, a wonderful beautiful woman and I can't live another day knowing that she ended up like she did. I have to save her."

Jade fully expected him to say no. Instead he smiled. "I made this machine to benefit mankind and if God had not wanted me to develop this, he would simply stopped me. Had me hit by a bus or choked to death on a cashew nut. Let's do it."

Jade looked to the machine and headed towards it. "Come on. I'm ready. Let's go."

Sikowkitz gently stopped her. "Hold the phone. We can't just dump you in 1869. We need to see if it even properly works. A couple of test jumps. I know you're impatient but it's the wiser course."

Jade lowered her head and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Let's face it, I'm probably a terrible candidate to be a time traveler."

Sikowitz vigorously shook his head. "No. In fact you're perfect. That's why I hired you. You are majoring in theatre. You're taking a class in costume design. You can't just go there, even if you have the right clothes. You'd stick out like a sore thumb. You need to approach this like you would a part in a play. Make a character, come up with a background. Why are you in England for example? You need to prepare and learn how to do things in that day and age. Ride a horse for example. While we work on getting the machine perfected, you can develop your 1869 character. You're acting and theatre experience will greatly benefit you. So when you go, you will fit in and no one will suspect a thing."

Jade laughed as she realized that Sikowitz was right. "Ok. I can take some time, prepare." That look of determination again reappeared on her face. "But I will save her."

"Good. One thing however. In time travel movies, the machine can go back and return at any time. This is a bit different. It opens a doorway between the times essentially and time will flow at the same rate in both times. You spend one day in 1869, you lose one day in 2014 and so on. For safety reasons, I won't shut the door completely while a subject is back in time. Instead I shrink the doorway to microscopic size. I'll give you a recall device. When you're ready to use the door again, you activate the recall device and I'll expand the door back up for you. Then I'll send the basket back down to retrieve you. Do you understand?"

"Yeah I got it."

"Now it may take you some time in 1869 to get to know this Tori and be in a position to break up her and Beck. So you need some time to be able to put aside for this. I would recommend the first day of your summer break. That way you can go back and have almost 3 months to succeed in your mission. I know that summer is several months off, but that will also give you time to completely prepare for your role as a person from 1869. In that time, I can work on perfecting the machine so I can get you to the proper date in one piece."

It made sense to Jade. For every second she spent in the past, one second would tick away in the present. So she would need time and summer would be perfect, as she wouldn't have to worry about missing school.

Sikowitz then gave Jade a towel to dry off with and sent her home. He told her he hoped to try the first real test the following week.

That night Jade had a nightmare. She was standing outside a bedroom window looking inside. In the room itself, Tori was giving birth, but it was going badly. She was screaming in pain and in great distress. Jade kept pounding on the window to try and get inside but could not. Nor could Tori or the midwife even hear her banging on the window. Jade watched helplessly as Tori died in front of her. Jade woke up crying at that point.

As she splashed some water on her face she said. "I'm coming...I'm coming."

For the next week, Jade came and helped Sikowitz the various test animals. The wormhole opened at the bottom of the arch and lowered down into the hole. They all came back in one piece. Eventually he sent down a video camera to a point of 30 years ago. On the monitor they could see that very room but instead it was dark and filled with boxes. They knew that this very storefront from 1968 to 2003 was a record store.

With each passing day Jade got a bit more excited for her first trip. After a number of tests, Sikowitz told her that it was time for the first trial run. Which would be quick trip into the past.

The night before, Sikowitz told Jade to come dressed in plain blue jeans, ordinary looking white sneakers, a plain black t shirt and a rather mundane looking purse. On her way home Jade made a quick trip to the store and procured the items needed. He also asked her to come with no additional streaks of color in her hair.

The next day she came, dressed as she should.

"Good." Sikowitz said as he looked her over. "We're sending you back to the 70's and your look won't attract much attention. It's very plain. But first you need to put this on for your protection during the trip. It's a radiation suit. Here's some money from that year. Your mission is go exit the store and go to the newstand that was across the street. Buy a paper and return."

She gave the silver radiation suit a look of scorn, but put it on.

Jade felt silly wearing the silver radiation suit. Of course that was on top of the fact that she was about to climb into a machine that was supposedly take her back in time. That just made her feel stupid and perhaps insane.

"That geek Robbie would be so jealous. Not sure if I feel good about that or not." Jade mumbled, as Sikowitz typed something in at the main computer terminal.

Jade turned around to see the huge contraption behind her. The main bulk of the machine was shaped like a big silver arch. All kinds of tubes and wires ran from the arch into various pieces of computer equipment all around the room. Underneath the arch was a basket. A steel cable ran from the top of the basket to into the top of the arch.

As she stood there the sound of the machine turned from a quiet hum to a loud roar as the machine suddenly came to life.

"Are you ready?" Sikowitz said as he came up to Jade.

"NO! But let's just get this over with. You know if I die, I am so haunting your ass. And it won't be pretty." Jade snapped, as Sikowitz checked the seals on the suit.

"It this suit really necessary? Couldn't you at least find one in Black. No self-respecting Goth would be caught dead wearing silver."

"Look Jade, I know we tested it on the animals and all of them came back fine, I don't want to worry about any radiation. This suit will also keep you warm as you pass through the wormhole. It's all a precaution. You do want to get to this Tori in one piece don't you?"

Jade nodded. "yes."

Sikowitz moved and opened the door of the small cage. "Please enter the basket. The worm hole will open below you and the cage will be lowered down through it. The other end of the hole will be several feet off the floor in this same room on a date in the past.. Once you're there, you get out of the basket."

Jade moved basket and watched as Sikowitz fired up the machine. "Now, from my tests, the trip through the wormhole should only take a few seconds. If you have any problems press the panic button on the inside of the basket. If you ring it, I'll pull you back post haste." Jade looked down to see a simple red button on the side of the basket.

"I'm going to Die!"

"Stop saying that. Remember what you need to do for our first test?"

"Yes, go and buy a paper with the money you gave me from the newsstand that used to be across the street. Then come straight back. The money is from the right year?"

"Yes. Now remember, you will appear in the back room of what this place used to be, a record store. Just make your way out to the front of the store and out onto the street. It shouldn't take you more than a few minutes. You have the recall device?"

Jade looked at the watch on her wrist. It appeared normal but it had an additional blue button."Yes."

"If you don't hit the recall button after 30 minutes, I'll reopen the worm hole every 5 minutes. Ready?"

"When's the exact date again?"

"My birthday, May 2nd, 1971. Ready."

"The things I do for love." Jade said, with a thumbs up.

Sikowitz hit execute, the already loud machine suddenly got even louder. A moment later Jade felt a momentarily dizziness and noticed strange colored lights starting to swirl around the basket. Suddenly it moved down, as the floor below it vanished. Instead was a large opening that was filled with lights and sound.

Jade closed her eyes and grabbed onto the basket, as Sikowitz started to lower Jade down into the wormhole.

As she was being lowered, the dizziness became more profound. Jade was able to fight through it, as she felt herself being lowered. As she remembered she should come out of a hole near the ceiling and be lowered to the floor.

Jade just thought of Tori and how she would be just a bit closer to her. But she hardly had time to think as she felt herself come to a stop.

Opening her eyes she could see a dark room with lots of boxes. The lights weren't on but some light managed to filter in through the windows.

"This is crazy." Jade said as she got out of the basket. A second later the basket was being pulled back up through the wormhole. A few seconds after that, the basket vanished up the hole, the hole itself seemed to vanish.

Jade started to shed her suit, thinking that she was probably just down the street. "I should have just taken the job at Arby's."

Suit off, she hid it behind a box and began to move towards a door on the other side of the room. It appeared to be the same room Sikowitz had his lab in, but now it was filled with cardboard boxes. Curious, she took out her pen light and picked the nearest box to open. It was filled with old vinyl record albums. But unlike the ones she saw in vintage record stores, they all looked brand new. Jade pulled one out.

Jade recognized it right away. It was L.A. Woman by The Doors. Jade liked this album and made a mental note to rip one off, when she returned.

"Still doesn't mean anything, this could have been here for years. Jade picked another box and opened it. Again it was full of brand new record albums, this box was full of copies of George Harrison's, All things must Pass, album.

"Looks interesting. I"ll have to steal you too. Still, let's see if this bizarre thing actually worked."

Now was the true test as Jade moved to the door. To not look too out of place, Sikowitz had Jade wear plain blue jeans, a plain black t shit and remove the streak of color from her hair. He explained that a person wearing Jeans and t-shirt, would probably not be noticed.

Jade cautiously opened the door. If it was indeed the same place, there should be a small hallway beyond, she thought.

Beyond the door was a short hallway. On the left were two doors. One marked Gents and the other marked ladies. Opposite those doors was a door marked Office. At the end of the short hallway was yet another door. Standing there Jade could faintly hear music coming from the other side.

"That must be to the record store. For me, it's probably to a rubber room cause I must be totally nut to try and or believe this." Jade said, as she quietly moved down the corridor.

Jade grasped the doorknob and took a deep breath. " Is this 1971 or am I just nuts." Let's find out.

Jade stepped through the door and found herself in what appeared to be a record store. Long racks of vinyl albums sat in neat rows in front of her. Along the walls were posters for, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Doors and a half dozen other bands. All from the late 1960's or the early 1970's

Looking around, Jade was distracted by a voice coming from a loudspeaker above.

"This is Mick in the afternoon, with the track that's been number on the UK pop charts for almost 4 weeks running now. Knock Three times, by Tony Orlando and Dawn."

A second later the song, Jade remembered as old pop song, came over the speaker.

_Hey girl, what ya doin' down there?  
Dancin' alone every night  
While I live right above you_

_I can hear your music playin'  
I can feel your body swayin'  
One floor below me  
You don't even know me, I love you_

_Oh, my darling, knock three times  
On the ceiling if you want me  
Twice on the pipe  
If the answer is no_

_Oh, my sweetness_

_Knock, Knock, Knock  
Means you'll meet me in the hallway  
Oh, twice on the pipe  
Means you ain't gonna show_

Half in a daze of disbelief Jade, listened to the old song as she wandered down through the racks. Every one filled with brand new record albums. Like in the back each and every album was from the early 70's. She saw a display advertising the Brand new album by the Rolling Stones "Sticky Fingers"

Knowing music, Jade continued to look. Not one single album she could find was from past 1971. There was, Let it Be, by the Beatles, Atom Heart Mother by Pink Floyd and Bridge over Trouble waters by Simon and Garfunkel.

Slowly but surely Jade began to believe what she was seeing. If this was a fake, than it was a perfect fake. Every album was brand new.

At one point a young man wearing a name tag that read Kevin walked up to him.

"May I help you?"

Jade smiled as she thought. "Do you have any CD's, compact Disks?"

Kevin gave Jade a very puzzled look. "I'm sorry, I don't know what a compact disk is. We carry all the latest record albums."

Not that she liked the group, but she figured she ask anyway. "Do you have anything by One Direction?"

"I'm sorry, I can look, but I've never heard of that group. Are they new?"

Jade nodded. "You could say that. What about Nirvana. Justin Beiber or Adele."

Kevin looked even more confused. "I'm sorry. I haven't heard of them either."

Jade studied Kevin carefully, to see if he was an actor. Jade being an actress knew a performance when she saw one. A second later Jade realized, Kevin wasn't acting. He had never heard of One Direction, Nirvana or the others.

The thought as impossible as it was ran across Jade's head. "He hasn't heard of them because it's 1971."

"I'm just going to look, thank you." Jade said as it finally sank in.

Jade laughed out loud. "Holy shit, it's 1971."

"What other year would it be?" Said some young girl in 70's clothes, rather sarcastically.

Jade just shook her head and rushed out of the store to see the street. Just like the inside, it looked like the early 1970's. The people's clothes, the cars, everything. Jade even noticed the Starbucks down the street was no longer there. In its place sat a very old looking warehouse.

Jade couldn't help but jump for Joy. "I did it. I did it. That stupid thing actually worked. As they would say in this day and age, groovy." She was ecstatic, because it meant one thing. She could see Tori. She could save Tori, Tori could be hers. What was impossible, now no longer was.

But as much as Jade wanted to explore she remembered her mission. She fished the coins out of her pocket and ran across the street to the newsstand. There she bought a brand new copy of the Times dated, May 2nd, 1971

Glancing at the headline, Jade could see it was about some group called the Angry Brigade, who had taken responsibility for a bomb that had gone off in a Biba clothing store the previous day.

Looking away from the paper Jade couldn't help but laugh as she stood in the street, looking at the old cars. All of them looked shiny and new. "Holy Cow, A world where No one's heard of Justin Beiber or One Direction and Led Zeppelin is still together. I may never want to leave."

It was almost too much for Jade. Her head was practically spinning, but it was a good thing. From her purse Jade pulled the faded old Victorian era photograph that started it all and gazed at it. A smile immediately came to the Goth's lips.

"It worked Tori. I really worked. Don't worry. I'm coming. You're not going to die in pain in misery. You're going to be with me. I'm coming."

Jade quickly put the photograph in her purse and with paper in hand she rushed back into the store. She went into the hallway and back into the storeroom. Fortunately no one noticed.

Keeping her promise earlier, she grabbed the two albums that caught her attention and put the radiation suit back on.

Jade pressed the button on her watch. "Now to get back. Let's hope this thing works."

A few moments later a hole of light appeared in the ceiling and the basket was slowly lowered down. Giddy with excitement, she hopped back in the cage and closed her eyes as she was brought back to the present.

**On May 2nd, 1971, the number one song in Britian was in fact "Knock Three Times" By Tony Orlando and Dawn.**

**The Angry Brigade that is referred to in the paper, was a real British Anarchist group that set off a number of bombs in England between 1970 and 1972. They did in fact set off a bomb in a Biba Clothing store on May 1st 1971. There were no Injuries. The members of the group were eventually arrested.**

**Jade will be getting to Tori, but she has some preperations to make and a few test trips. One only knows what the future, or in this case the past, has in store for her.**


	8. Happy Birthday John

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 8 - Happy Birthday John.**

**A bit of a long one today. I do hope you enjoy it.**

**No One's POV**

Jade came into the room where she could see that Sikowitz was readying for another trip in time. The previous night he had said she was going to take yet another test trip.

"So where now?"

Sikowitz looked up from the computer he had been working on. "I need to run more tests and sent you further back. We're sending you to a festive occasion. Something a bit fun."

"What's that?"

"Wednesday, May 12th, 1937. It's the date that King George the sixth was crowned. They will be having a big ceremony at Westminster Abbey. There will also be a huge procession with the new king and all that. It will be a very festive occasion and lots of people on the street. You can blend into the crowd easily. I have some period appropriate clothing for you in that bag on the chair right there."

While Jade would rather go straight back to Tori, further tests had to be run and she needed to finish preparing so she could act the part of someone from 1869. But this seemed like a fun little trip. She grabbed the bag and headed into the bathroom to change.

The outfit consisted of a rather plain looking checkered blue dress and skirt. Along with that were a simple pair of shoes and silk stockings. Lastly there was a simple hat and a long grey woolen coat and a black purse. Everything of course was in the style of the mid 1930's.

Soon Jade was dressed and upon looking at herself in the mirror thought she looked rather silly. A few minutes later she was ready to go.

"Ok Jade. In the purse you will find directions to the parade route. It shouldn't be too cold a day so why don't you just walk and see the sights. Practice blending in. I've also put a few pound notes from that period in your purse if you get hungry. Feel free to stay a bit, have some supper, and see a show. It's 1937, enjoy it. "

He handed her the watch she would use to recall the wormhole. "One addition. The red button, is an emergency escape. Push it 3 times and in theory the wormhole will travel to your location. But I must stress that it is only to be used in a dire emergency. The machine isn't designed to move the wormhole very far from this spot. It will probably overload the machine and could result in its destruction. There is a chance it may not work at all. So use in only a dire emergency. Are you ready?"

Jade took her favorite pair of scissors and phone and dropped them into her 1930's purse. "Yes."

"Now in 1937, this building is a factory that makes buttons. But since its coronation day, it will be closed. Now lastly." Sikowitz handed her an old iron key. "I picked this building as it has a original door with an old lock. This door has never been replaced and uses the same key as the day it was built. You will always be able to get in and out of the building with the key. It leads into the alley behind the building."

Key in purse, Jade climbed into the basket and waited for the wormhole to open. A few moments later she could hear the hum of the machine get louder and a glimmering appeared below the basket. As before, she was lowered down and found herself in the same room. Only it was 1937.

Like in the 1970's the room was being used as a storeroom. Only this time the boxes held buttons of various shapes and sizes. Jade stepped out of the basket and it quickly retracted from where it came. A second later the glimmering hole in the ceiling vanished. Jade knew it was still there, but in microscopic size.

Jade smirked. "Well 1937, here we come."

Jade exited the building and made her way around the front. The street looked much like it had, only the buildings looked less run down and there were a few more that she didn't remember being there. For another moment Jade marveled at the old cars and started to walk.

As she made her way down the street, Jade just couldn't believe she was in 1937. She could see a few people on the street, all dressed in old clothing, old cars, but they were all new. Best part was that no one, seemed to give Jade a second look.

**Jade's POV**

I enjoyed walking through 1930's London and seeing how different it was. I had gone some 2-3 miles towards when I gradually began to sense that something was off. First of all it seemed later in the day than she thought I would arrive. The sun was just going down when I arrived and now it is getting dark. Not to mention it didn't feel like spring. I thought this coat would be too warm, but it's actually perfect for this weather. I also noticed the streets only had a few people and cars on them, but at first I assumed everyone was at the parade. But looking at the few that were on the street, a housewife, a worker, a man in a suit, they all seemed to be in a hurry and looked a bit nervous.

But I was enjoying myself too much and merely disregarded those odd things. That sense of something being wrong got a bit more intense, when I noticed some other things. On my walk, I saw not less than 6 buildings which recently had burnt down. A short while later I became aware of a low hum somewhere off in the distance. It was a strange sound. Pausing to look around I suddenly realized that most of the people on the street had vanished.

The hum itself seemed to stand the hairs on the back of my neck straight up. I suddenly got a very bad feeling. "No….No….Something's wrong."

Trying to figure out what to do, I became aware that the distant hum was now ever so slightly louder. Suddenly I spotted a trashcan and a newspaper sticking out of it.

Moving quickly to the trash can I grabbed the paper, which was half covered in some muck making it nearly impossible to read. It was the still visible date that grabbed my attention.

_October 9__th__, 1940. _

At that moment, did I not only realize I was in the wrong year, something else clicked in my mind. Ruined buildings and nervous looking people. Not to mention that I noticed that I couldn't see lights in any windows. They were all covered with thick curtains. There was the low hum and the year 1940...Suddenly three word's from a long ago history class I paid scant attention to, emerged from my memory.

"THE LONDON BLITZ"

A bit more of that long ago lecture, surged through my mind. The London Blitz, that period in World War 2 when German bombers for months, pounded London and other British Cities repeatedly, in an attempt to break their morale.

It was that second, much to my horror; I realized what that low hum was and why it was getting ever so slightly louder. That rather disturbing sound was the engines of several hundred German bombers, headed in my direction.

The sudden wail of what I recognized as an air raid siren, confirmed my worst fears an instant later.

"FUCK!" I cursed loudly. "Sikowitz, you fucking asshole. You dumped me into the path of a German air raid."

I looked at the recall button on my watch, but decided instead to get back to the factory. As I hurried, I could hear what sounded like explosions in the distance.

I made it half way back when I suddenly saw many blocks up the street, a building get hit by a bomb and collapse into the street. It was then that I realized, that heading back to the factory, was putting me directly in the path of the German bombers above. That low hum wasn't a low hum anymore, it was now a very loud, angry droning sound and it kept getting louder.

For a moment I sense of panic gripped me, as I knew I had get out of there fast. It looked like I may have to use the emergency recall, but I also knew that if I destroyed the machine I chances of getting to Tori would be gone forever. I couldn't risk that. I've come all this way, I can't fail.

"Think…Think." I said, as I tried to vainly remember the history class and something I could find useful. I was so confident at the time that Mr. Moore's history class wouldn't have bearing on my life what so ever.

"Mr. Moore, I stand corrected." I said, suddenly feeling very stupid.

"Shelter. I need to find a shelter." The problem was that I had no idea where the nearest one was. Suddenly another fragment of Mr. Moore's history lecture, coursed thought my mind.

"_During the Blitz, many Londoners took shelter in the London Underground." _

I suddenly remembered passing the entrance to one a block back. With the explosions getting louder and closer, I ran for the tube station. Despite the fact the shoes I was wearing weren't designed for running, I made it quickly and ran down the stairs. A minute later I emerged onto where the platform was. It looked much like it did in my day with obvious differences of course. Standing on the platform, I could see all the people. Dozens of people were crowded on the platform and tracks. Most of them were lying down, with blankets and things. Men, women, children, old, young, families they were all here. I remembered from the lecture that people would spend the whole night here. So it's understandable that people would have brought blankets and the like.

The crowd was mostly quiet save for a few people chattering about. They mostly seemed intent on listening to the muffled sounds of explosions above. It was the pensive looks on their faces which struck me.

"Miss, Would you like some coffee?" Said a man with a Red Cross arm band to my left.

After the experience I had just been through, the thought of coffee was a wonderful one. "Yes, Please."

A part of me wanted to make a snarky comment about how I thought the Germans were trying to kill me personally. But seeing the fearful looks on the peoples faces, I didn't have the heart.

Instead I took my coffee, found an empty spot in the corner at the end of the platform and sat down. All I could do now was wait. To pass the time, I put my headphones in, covered my ears with my hair and listened to my pearpod. It struck me, how the members of Linkin Park probably never guessed that at least one of their fans would be listening to them during a WWII air raid.

After a while, I had to use the rest room, so I made it into the bathroom which seemed deserted. But as soon as I sat on the toilet, I could hear what sounded like the sound of a child quietly crying.

I realized that the crying was coming from the stall next to mine. As I finished up and washed my hands, I realized that the child and me were the only ones in here. Why is she alone? I wondered. As pissed off and annoyed as i was, there was something in her sobs that I couldn't ignore.

"Hey…Are you alright?" I called out.

The sound of the crying stopped for a second but I could hear her start up again. "It's ok to be scared. Are you scared? Why don't you come out. It's ok."

A moment later I saw a small girl of about 6 in a grey wool coat with curly brown hair and blue eyes emerge from the stall. She looked scared and was crying. "I want my mommy!"

I looked to the door and then back to her. "Isn't your mommy out there with the others, or maybe your daddy?"

She shook her head. "I don't know where my mommy is?"

I realized she must be lost. "Are you lost?"

She nodded and more tears came down. "We were at the big store, and I went to look at the toys and didn't tell my mommy. When the siren sounded, people were rushing to get to the shelter, I couldn't find my mommy."

"So you got lost, but knew to come down to a tube station where it would be safe."

"Yes. I want my mommy!" She sobbed.

She looked so lost and scared; I also noticed with the sound of each explosion above, she cringed ever so slightly. Maybe it's this Tori business just softening me up, but I couldn't leave this poor little girl. I put my hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be ok. You did the right thing in coming down here. It's much too dangerous up there. I'll let you in on a little secret. This is my first air raid and I'm a bit scared too."

She looked at me and seemed slightly comforted. "You're a American."

I nodded and extended my hand. "Jade West from Los Angeles, California at your service."

A second later she shook my hand. "I'm Mary Bell. I'm 6 years old."

I smiled. "Well pleased to meet you Mary. Tell you what. I'll make you a deal. If you sit with me out there and keep me from getting scared, I'll see you get home when this is all done. I'm sure I can find a policeman get you there when the time comes."

Her face immediately lit up. "Would you, Please."

"You bet. Come on. I have a nice cozy corner out there. Let's sit down and wait."

I took her to my corner and we sat down. She was a bit quiet at first but gradually got to talking. Her father was in the British Navy and worked in the engine room of the Aircraft Carrier, HMS Argus. She seemed proud of her father service in the Navy. She said her mother was nice and made her cookies and she had two older sisters. She told me about her school and her friends. How she loved her favorite doll, Sara. I told her I was an only child and wanted to be an actress like Katherine Hepburn. I told her lots of things about my life. Leaving out such details that would be hard to explain. But we talked and seemed to hit it off.

"Are you still scared?" I asked eventually.

She nodded letting some fear creep into her expression. "I'm scared. I'm scared the Germans will invade and take away my mommy and my sisters. It gives me bad dreams" She said less than a second before we heard the sound of a bomb nearby, causing her to visibly cringe.

I realized that at this point, the threat of a German invasion of the British Isles was still a very real possibility. I could see the fear and apprehension in the others here. They were all scared.

Sitting there I thought about the war in general and how instead of something in a book, it was now something that was going on around me. Only I knew what would happen. I knew that this war would drag on for another 5 years and kill millions of people. It occurred to me that at this very moment a young girl in Amsterdam, named Anne Frank was probably sleeping in her bed; unaware of the horror and darkness that would soon close in on her. But there were a lot of others just like her all over that were at this moment, unaware of their fates. I've always been a lover of death and all kinds of morbid things. But this was too much, even for me.

But like Mary, many were fearful of what would happen. I could feel fear and only now could grasp the full horror of the war that was now raging around me. The muffled explosions coming from above served as a constant reminder of that war. It was a lesson that I could never learn in Mr. Moore's history class. What it felt like. To see, hear and experience the choking fear and terror of it all. Right now above me, a city was being pounded. People would certainly die this night.

I couldn't help any of them, but I felt the need to comfort Mary. I just had to.

"The German's won't invade. They won't take away your family." I remember that they had planned it, but it never took place. I do remember that.

"How do you know?"

I smirked. "I know. They won't. And I'll tell you another secret. The Germans are going to lose this war. I guarantee it."

She looked at me as if she wanted to believe me but couldn't. "You can't know."

At this point, I decided to risk something. She was only six and even if she did tell anyone, they would think this is just a story.

"Can I trust you Mary? To keep a big secret."

She nodded. "Cross my heart, hope to die."

"Ok then. Have you ever heard of the book. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells."

She appeared to think for a moment. "No."

"Well, it's a book published some years ago. I'm sure your local library will have one. It's about a professor who builds a machine that can travel through time. He can go to yesterday or tomorrow, or far into the future and he has adventures. Got that?"

Mary nodded.

"Ok. Well here's my secret. In the future, a man will build a real time machine and I used it. You see, I'm not from this time. I'm from the future. I'm still from Los Angeles, but the future."

She laughed. "No…That's just a story. My uncle Jack tells me stories about fairies. That's the same."

"Wanna see some proof?"

Her eyes opened wide. "You have future things?"

"You have to promise me you wont' tell. If the Nazi's get their hands on this stuff. Bad things can happen. How does it go? Oh yeah….Loose lip's sink ships" I remember seeing that on an old poster.

"I promise."

I carefull pulled out my pearphone and showed it to her. But I was careful to hold it, so only Mary and I could see. "See this. This is a telephone. Now the phone part won't work right now, but it can do all kinds of fantastic things. Would you like to see one?"

She eyed the thing with a look of wonder, as I activated it. "Yes. Very much so."

"Ok. Now smile." I held it out and took a picture of us.

Then I showed her the picture of us on the phone. Mary looked utterly amazed and visibly gasped. "You took a picture. And it's in color. How did you do that?"

"It's just a machine. Like car or plane. It has stuff in it that makes it work. It's just a bit of a fancier machine than they have now. But see this picture. It's called a selfie. And you…Are in the worlds very first selfie. Some day when people are doing it, you can smile and say. Hey…I was doing this years before it was cool."

I spent a few minutes showing her, what she described is my wonder phone. I even took a small video of us and played it back. She was so amazed by the device, she seemed to completely forget the air raid that had her so frightened earlier. The other's around us were either asleep or not paying any attention to us. The fact that we were in a far corner, helped cover up what we were doing."

"Do you like music?" I asked.

"Oh Yes, Mummy plays the phonograph for my sisters and I."

"You want to hear some. My phone can even play music?"

Mary looked even more amazed and excited. "Oh Yes Please."

"Let me put this in your ear." I said, as I helped her put an earbud her ear. I put the other in my ear. "Ok. I'll play something you may like. You're lucky I'm a closet Taylor Swift fan. Not that I would ever admit that, but in this case I'll make an exception. We'll avoid Linkin Park or Metallica. You're not ready for that, quite yet."

A few moments later, I was playing Love Story by Taylor Swift. Mary just sat there next to me, listening to the music of someone, who would be born for 49 years. At first she listened intently but gradually she began to bob her head slightly to the music. A moment later she smiled. "I like this song. You have a phonograph in your phone? How does it fit?"

I laughed as a selected yet another Taylor Swift song, You Belong With Me. "Special future stuff. Top secret. But just enjoy the music. But get this, you are not only the worlds first person to take a selfie but also the world's first Taylor Swift Fan. See, I'm from the future and take it from me. The Germans will never invade England, not to mention they will lose."

Now she belived me, I could see a visible look of relief in her eyes. "Yay."

As I sat there, there was something about today's date, that seemed familiar. It had nothing to do with the Blitz or the war. But listening to the music made me think I was missing something. It was on the edge of my mind. I went to flip through my pearphone for another song that Mary might like when I ran across Abbey Road, when it hit me.

"Oh My god. It's today. It's today." I said with a laugh.

"What?" said Mary.

"It's nothing. Here listen to this. It's a silly song, but I hope you enjoy it." I said as I played the song. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

Today was October 9th, 1940. Today in a hospital in Liverpool, a baby the name of John Winston Lennon had come into this world. I imagined him at this very moment, lying in his crib, unaware of the wonderful music he would one day create.

"Happy Birthday John" I said with a quiet smile.

We listened to more songs for a while. I did pick ones that I felt she may like. I threw in some more Beatles songs, in honor of John Lennon's birthday. Octopus's Garden by the Beatles, she thought was silly. Each one she listened to with a look of wondrous amazement. I even played Get Lucky by Daft Punk which she especially enjoyed. Soon I did notice she seemed to be getting tired. I guessed it was well past her bedtime.

"Are you getting sleepy?"

"Yes."

I took off the headphones, put my coat over her and put my arms around her. She seemed to quickly fall asleep peacefully in my arms. Not having anything else to do, I closed my eyes and tired to ignore the fear I couldn't help but feel. I drifted off and slept, but rather uncomfortably.

When I woke the next morning, my back felt like someone had walked on it repeatedly. Serves me right for sleeping in the corner of an underground station during a German Air raid. By this time, the other people in the station were also getting up and gathering their things. Soon they would go back out and survey the damage.

I woke the sleeping Mary with a smile. "Time to get up little one. Lets find a cop and get you home."

"Could you walk me home? I know where I live."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I live at 194 Stepney Way. My mummy made me know my address."

"Sure kiddo. Let's get you home. I'm sure your mommy is worried."

We emerged from the underground and started for her home. On the way, I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up.

"I want to be a fireman." The girl said cheerfully, but then frowned. "My sister Eva says that's only for boys."

"Nonsense. In my time, women do all kinds of things that no one thought possible. They run huge companies, run entire countries, are scientists, doctors you name it. You Mary, can be what ever you want. Even if someone tells you that you can't. Don't listen. You just keep trying and do it. Prove them wrong. If you remember anything I tell you, it's that. Find out what you want to do and go for it."

She listened carefully and smiled. "Yay. I can be a fireman."

On the way home, though I spotted a few buildings that had been hit. The raid the previous night appeared to be a heavy one a number of damaged and destroyed buildings. Each time we saw one, I could see the fear in Mary's eyes. "I don't like the bombs. They scare me."

I had helped her through the night, but the thought of this little girl being afraid bothered me. I had to do something, to help her. Then an idea came to me. I reached in my purse and pulled out one of my favorite pair of scissors.

"You see this Mary. I'm going to give this to you. It's my favorite pair of scissors and it will keep you safe. You've seen what my phone can do. How wonderful it is. This scissors will keep you safe from bombs. You just need to have it. Now this is important. It's a bit sharp and can hurt you. So you must hold it carefully and never use it to cut things or poke anything or anyone with it. It's only for keeping bombs away. You should never use it for anything else. Can I Trust you with it. You will need to still go to shelters. It works best in shelters."

The girl looked at the scissors and smiled. "Yes. I will be extra careful. I will only have it during the bomb raids. Will it keep me safe?"

I knew it was a lie, but if she was hit, I doubt she'd feel a thing. At least then, she'd feel safe and not so scared. "Yes. But like everything else I told you. It's our secret. We can't let those naughty Germans know."

The scissors was actually a smaller pair and fit in her hands nicely. She looked at it for a moment and put it in her pocket.

I held her hand and we sang some Taylor Swift songs on the way home. By the time she got home, she was happy. Arriving at her house I knocked at her door and a brown haired woman in her late 30's answered. She had a worried look on her face, until she saw Mary."

"Mary! Where were you? I looked everywhere for you I was worried Sick," Mary's mother quickly scolded her.

Mary ran up and hugged her mama. "When I couldn't find you. I did like I was supposed to and went in the tube station to be safe. My friend Jade here kept me from getting scared."

The woman then gave me a grateful look. "Thank you for bringing my Mary back. I'm Charlotte Bell."

I shook her hand with a smile. "I'm Jade West. I was in the tube station and found her alone and crying. I just kept her company and brought her back home. She was very nice."

"I can't thank you enough. Please do come in."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry I can't I have people waiting for me and they are probably worried too. I'm leaving London today and they are waiting."

"Thank you ever so much for keeping Mary company and bringing her home. I hope she wasn't too much of a bother."

"No. Not at all. I entertained her with some stories. I write science fiction stories, and told her a few fantastic tales." That would cover my bases if Mary opened her mouth about anything I'd told her. They would assume it was just a story I told her. But at that moment I gave Mary a subtle wink, which she returned.

"Again, thank you ever so much."

"You're welcome. Well I need to get going."

Mary gave me a sad look. "You're leaving Jade?"

I kneeled down and looked her in the eyes. "I have go back where I came from. Just remember what I told you. Everything is going to be fine. " Then I whispered to her. "Remember to keep our secret and stay safe."

She smiled and gave me a hug. "I promise. Thank you Jade."

I then gave Mrs. Bell a smile and said my goodbye. I then walked to the factory and surveyed the damage in the city. Sadly I knew the ordeal was just beginning. But they'd make it.

**Well Jade had a bit of an adventure and helped a little girl get over her fears. She will be getting to Tori very soon.**


	9. Never pass up a chance to see Freddie

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 9 - Never pass up a chance to see Freddie.**

**No One's POV.**

Sikowitz was at the controls when the Jade hit the recall signal. As he had promised her, he widened the wormhole from microscopic to Normal size. Then he sent the basket down. A minute later he could see the gondola coming back with Jade in it. Her normal scowl had been replaced by look of intense anger.

"So…..You were gone almost the entire night. You had fun…Yes?" He said hoping the look was just Jade being overly grouchy.

Jade quickly got in his face and narrowed her eyes. "Fun….NO! You need to check your machine. It was a bit off."

Sikowitz backed up with a worried look. "OFF? By how much?"

Jade huffed and hardened her Jaw. "3 years and 5 months. So instead of the rather festive May 12th, 1937, I instead got the rather terrifying, October 9th, 1940. Which as it happened to be, was during the London Blitz. So I got to see a German air raid first hand and let me tell you. NOT FUN. Not fun at all. I even got to see some poor bastard they were pulling out of the rubble on my way back. He didn't look too good. Normally i'd loved to see a dead body. But because of my long night, I couldn't even enjoy it. I spent the entire night sleeping, rather uncomfortably I might add, in a corner of a underground station. and I'm tired, my back hurts and I'm hungry as hell on top of it. So No I didn't have any fun."

Sikowitz turned white and took a rather nervous sip from the cocoanut he was holding. "Oh…My. I'm so sorry. I…I…need to check the calibration."

Jade nodded and grabbed the bag of her modern clothes that was in the corner. "Yes….You do that." She said in a rather chilling voice, followed by a equally chilling glare. "Now. I'm going to change, go home, take a shower, eat, down about 10 aspirin and half a bottle of bourbon, watch the scissoring, then go to sleep. Bye…"

Sikowitz felt terrible, not to mention he was half scared out of his wits. "Uh….take the next week off with pay. While I fix this."

Jade just grunted and left the room.

For the next week Jade relaxed and attended her classes as normal. Though her thoughts remained on Tori, she pushed asides any thoughts of her eventual trip to the 1800's.

She returned to the lab a week later to work. No trips had been planned so Jade figured she would just run errands, as she did normally.

"So did you get the thing fixed? Because the rather unerving buzzing which is the sound of a few hundred German Heinkel bombers headed in my direction, is not one I care to hear again." Jade said abruptly, as she walked into the lab.

Sikowitz stood up and handed Jade a small box. "Yes. A circuit board had failed, causing the calibration to drift. I need to watch that in the future. I also took the time to install a secondary backup. I feel very bad for what I've done and I've gotten something to hopefully make it up to you. Here."

Jade looked at the box and opened it. Inside was what looked like a small but old ticket. Pulling it out, Jade could see it was well preserved and unused concert ticket.

"You've mentioned that you like Siouxie and the Banshee's a lot. So I found this on ebay and ordered it for you."

"Hell Yeah. It's probably my favorite band, period." Jade then read the ticket.

_Siouxsie and the Banshees's_

_8:00 PM. August 25th, 1981_

_Hammersmith Odeon, London England. _

"Oh…Cool. Thanks." Jade said as she looked back up at Sikowitz. "I'll have to frame this and put it on my wall."

A rather puzzled look suddenly came across Sikowitz's face. "It's an unused ticket."

Jade rolled her eyes. "I'm not blind. I can see that."

Suddenly Sikowitz stepped back and gestured towards the equipment behind him. "You don't see my dear. You have an unused ticket and I have a TIME MACHINE!"

It took about a half a second for Jade's mind to connect the dots. At which point her eye's opened wide, with a long audible gasp. Looking down at the ticket, Jade's hands began to shake.

Realizing she now could see her favorite band off all time in their prime, Jade had a mini freakout. "Oh…Oh my god. I can…I can see Budgie. I can see Siouxsie. Not the old Souxsie. But the New Siouxsie, when she was new and not old and broken up like today. Oh my god. 1981, that's Juju. I can hear night shift. Oh my god I can go….I can see Siouxie and the Banshee's."

"Well Technically, you already have. In fact I have the machine ready to go. You're dressed in all black as normal, so if you're ready. You can go now. I even have some pound notes from that time you can spend. Here they are."

"ARE YOU KIDDING!" Jade snapped as she grabbed the pound notes. "This is Siouxsie. I can't just wear any black outfit. Oh my god. I have to rush home and get my best Goth outfit." With that Jade ran out the door and returned just over 5 hours later.

He knew not to say anything but Jade appeared much like she did before. She was wearing Black leather boots, tight black legging's over a black and green plaid skirt. She had on a black lace top and leather jacket with a long necklace with a strange Goth Type design. Her hair was done and she looked very much the goth. "Let's go. And if you dump me in the blitz again, I'm going to hurt you." Sikowitz was pretty sure Jade wasn't kidding.

Sikowitz, made sure he had the date and would place her in London with plenty of time to reach the venue. With that Jade was sent back. Arriving in 1981, she found the place to be a record store again. She exited the store and made her way to the concert venue.

Soon she was standing on Queen Caroline Street in front of the Hammersmith Odoen theatre. Looking at her watch, she could see it was just after 7:30 pm and people were filing into the venue.

For a moment Jade marveled at the concert goers. There were a few small groups standing outside smoking. There were some with spiked hair, some with new wave hair, sticking out in every direction and many with very classic punk look. Some were dressed very Goth like, but in an earlier style. Jade felt like a sleek deadly panther in the middle of a gaudy flamboyant zoo. No one however seemed to notice Jade in her 21st century Goth outfit.

Jade looked at the ticket in her hand and grinned. "Holy fuck! I'm here."

With a a building sense of anticipation, Jade handed walked in, handed her ticket to the usher and found her seat. Much to her surprise, the seat was a rather good one about 16 rows back from the stage. She wondered briefly if the people next to her knew the original ticket holder. If they asked she'd just say she saw the empty seat and moved forward. She realized she couldn't admit to having the ticket if they did know the person.

Still Jade was beyond excited, as the venue filled up and behind a curtain a few guitars could be heard as they were tuned up. The whole thing was like a dream. But at 8:00 sharp, the curtain rolled back and the stage was flooded with a red light.

An instant later, the band members seemed to come out of the darkness and began to play. With an approving roar of the audience, a young,vibrant and mysterious looking Siouxie Sioux began to rattle off the first lines of Red Light.

As the lead singer casually strolled across the stage Jade literally had to pinch herself. But it was all true. She was now seeing her favorite band of all time, in its prime. By the time the band hit the second song, Halloween, the crowd was into it.

The thing that struck Jade was how young and vibrant they looked. Full of raw energy, they powered they way through song after song. Siouxie stood there with a wild look in her eyes that were heavily covered in eyeshadow. Jade was spellbound, by her raw sexuality. For a brief time, even Tori faded from her mind. Jade may have been in love, but she was still very human.

Jade also paid particular attention to guitarist John McGeoch, who was in the band at the time. Jade was amazed at his talent, but could help but feel sad that he would eventually have a nervous breakdown and leave the band. Even more sad, Jade knew that the man on stage, playing with such dedication would die in his sleep at the age of 48 in 2004. Jade found the sound of his playing to be immensely bittersweet.

Partway through the 3rd song which was Hong Kong Garden, Jade remembered that her ex Becca, was an even bigger Siouxie fan than she was. For a moment Jade pictured the look of near insane jealously on her face if she learned that Jade was here this night.

Jade could only laugh and then shouted out. "Becca, eat your fucking heart, you worthless whore."

To Jade's dying day this concert went down as the very best one she had ever seen. From Night Shift, to Voodo Dolly to the final song of Spellbound, Jade was completly blown away. Of course she couldn't really tell that she was there. How would one explain how they attended a concert that took place 13 years before they were born. But still, Jade utterly enjoyed every single second of it.

The whole thing with Tori had been weighing heavily on her mind and the concert was just what she needed. By the time she walked out Jade felt like she was walking on a cloud, at least for a short while.

Upon coming back, Jade profusely thanked Sikowitz for the opportunity to see such an incredible show. A few weeks later, after finding another unused ticket online, Jade went back in time to see David Bowie on May 12th, 1973 at Earl's Court during his Ziggy Stardust tour. Again she was totally blown away.

Having a unique opportunity, Jade scoured the internet for one show she was dying to see. Finally she found it. Sikowtz even help her buy the ticket from the collecter as he still felt very guilty about the Blitz incident. The next day Jade went back and was on of the 72,000 fans attending the Live Aid concert at Wembly Arena on July 13th, 1985. There she saw, U2, Adam Ant, The Who, Ultravox along with the other artists that performed that day. But for Jade the best part was seeing Queen, with Freddie Mercury fronting the band in all his glory. Jade simply couldn't pass up a chance to see Freddy, that would be criminal. As Queen played, Jade was in awe as she watched Freddie strut across the stage belting out Radio Ga Ga. He acted as if he owned the stage and seeing the audiences wild reaction, he most certainly did. Next to the Siouxie and the banshee's, seeing Queen was the best show she'd ever seen.

The date for Jade to go back to 1869 was set for June 3, one week after her last final exam. Ironically that day was also Tori's 164th birthday. As it had been explained that for each day she spent in the past she'd lose one day here, she'd need some free time. Also she needed time to prepare.

Besides classes and working for Sikowitz, Jade threw herself into her preparations. She read up on history, slang, dress, politics of the era. She downloaded a number of history and reference books onto her kindle so she could consult them. Jade even scanned in Tori's journals and had them transferred to her kindle. Using her acting skills, she made a character with a background.

Her character was Jade West from Los Angeles. The daughter of a well off horse trader who recently passed away, she had decided to sail around the world. Her character was pretty much herself with a few modifications.

Jade consulted the teacher that taught costume design at her college in help on designing some 1869 clothes. She said it was for a play she was in the process of writing.

Knowing that Tori loved to ride and her character was the daughter of a horse trader, Jade even took riding lessons on the weekend.

Jade in addition to that, scoured antique shops for things her character would need, a comb, toiletries, etc. That and she went through old coins shops to find some money from the period. Sikowitz did help with some of the expenses.

As the days got closer and closer ,Jade got more anxious. To relieve some of the tension, she made some other trips back in time. One of the things she did was see several silent movies that in the modern day no longer exist. There are many films that over time had been lost for one reason or another.

The very first one Jade saw was called "London After Midnight." It was a 1927 film horror/mystery film starring Lon Cheney Sr. In this case, Jade wore some appropriate 1927 clothes, went back in time and saw the movie. She even covertly videotaped it with her pearpod.

A year later, the British Film Insitute was shocked to have someone covertly mail them a DVD copy of the film. Along with DVD's of at least 20 other lost films from the silent era. It created quite a stir, but no one was ever able to figure out who had those films in their collection. Not to mention they were baffled by the superior quality of the footage.

Finally the Jade finished her first year at school and the summer break was due to begin. Jade despite her other activities managed to get an A average.

That last week was torture for Jade, waiting to see Tori. But she finally made it. All arrangements were made. She had told her family she would be backpacking through europe and out of touch. She arranged for Sikowitz to get her mail and pay her few bills.

On June 3rd, 2014 Jade West stood in Sikowitz's lab all ready to go. She had 2 authentic looking bags. One contained her clothes which consisted of; 2 simple dresses and one night shirt, plus authentic undergarments. She also had a plain pair of 1869 shoes. All her clothes were perfect replicas.

The other bag had her toiletries, a 1863 copy of Richard the III, a 1860 copy of Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque by Edgar Allen Poe and her phone, pearpod, kindle and a solar charger. While the phone itself would be useless, some of the apps could be useful. The modern items were hidden in a carefully constructed false bottom of the bag.

Jade outfitted herself in what she described as Traveling clothes. They consisted of 1864 Model US Army issue black Cavalry boots, a pair of plain black pants. A simple white shirt and with a brown leather vest. Her hair was tied back and on her head she wore a Civil war union Forage cap, otherwise known as a kepi. Over that she wore a blue Union army Great coat. Hardly things a woman would wear, but she was no ordinary woman.

Her character's father served in the US civil war, thus Jade used her "Fathers" things to travel in.

Lastly she had her wallet in her pocket and her 2nd favorite pair of scissors in her boot.

"Do you have the watch. So you can recall the wormhole?" Sikowitz asked as he warmed up the machine.

"Yes. Plus to activate the emergency. I press the red button 3 times."

"So which exact date do you want?"

"April 29th, 1869."

"Why that date, specifically?"

Jade smiled. "As it turns out, in the Journals Tori mentions that one of the servants who worked at the inn, a girl named Molly, quit on that day. They didn't find a proper replacement for at least 3 months. Guess who's going to show up the day Molly quit, looking for a Job. It will give me the perfect way in. Plus it will give me just over 2 months to do my work."

"And you brought the other things from the box, the journals etc…"

"yes in this plastic tub. Why?"

"An experiment. If you change history, those items may have never ended up in that house, thus you never got them. They may simply vanish. However I think that if they are in close proximity to the machine, they will be shielded. I will keep the tub here safe and sound."

"What about you? What if you forget?"

Sikowitz pulled out a small thumb drive and handed it to Jade. Keep this and if I don't remember give this to me. It has a video I recorded explaining what's going on."

Jade carefully stuck the thumb drive in the secret part of her bag and threw her stuff in the basket. Then she crawled into the basket herself.

Sikowitz hit a few more buttons and the machine warmed up. "OK, you will arrive at 6:00 AM on April 29th, 1869. That will be one hour before the factory that this place once was, was opened for the day. You're lucky this building was built in 1863. The place will be empty and no no one will see you arrive. As I said. I will keep the worm hole open, but in a microscopic size. No one will even see it. I'll make sure I'll monitor the machine at all times. I have a remote that can tell me what's going on. Are you ready?"

Now feeling giddy and nervous, Jade nodded. "I'm ready"

A second later, Sikowtiz hit a button and the machine started to make a loud hum. Then Jade could see the worm hole open beneath her. "Good Luck" Shouted.

"Thanks" Jade said as she felt the basket begin to lower.

Jade couldn't help but grin. "Tori, here I come."

**The three concerts Jade attends, all really took place on the dates and venues listed.** **With the Siouxie and the Banshee's show, they did in fact play the songs she mentions on that night. I took the liberty of looking up the setlist for that night.**

**The comment about the gituarist for Siouxie and the Banshees, John McGeoch was very true.**

**Here's a question. If you could attend any 1 concert that took place in history, which would it be? It's a hard question as there would be so many to chose from. That said, I'd love to see the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. They had Hendrix, The Doors, The Moody Blues, The Who, Jethro Tull and a slew of others. **


	10. End of a Long Road

**Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 10 – End of a long road.**

**Jade's POV**

As the basket came to a rest I could see boxes in the room, in the dim light that streamed in through the windows. For a moment, I mused how this particular room almost always is a storage room. At least until 2014 when it became a laboratory.

Eager to get going, I grabbed my bags and hopped out of the basket. With a strange feeling, I then walked the basket retract back up the wormhole which soon after seemed to vanish. This was the farthest back I had ever gone. Previously, I only gone as far back as 1902.

I slung my bags over my shoulder and went to the rear door. This time, it looked rather new. I quietly unlocked the door and stepped out into Friday April 29th, 1869.

I promptly also stepped into mud as well. The alley behind the building, which was paved in later years was not in 1869. I had guessed it had rained during the night causing the dirt in the alley to turn into a very large mud puddle.

"Mud. How wonderful." I grumbled as I locked the door and headed out.

Coming around the alley, the first thing I spotted was a light horse drawn carriage, known as a dogcart. Its driver, who looked to be a laborer of some sort, paid me no attention as he urged his horses down the cobblestone street.

It was then I noticed the smell. Being 1869 and horses were the common form of transportation, I got a nice whiff of horse shit. First mud, now the wonderful aroma of horse shit.

Looking around I could see the street was pretty deserted, as it was just after 6 in the morning. Only now the city of London was waking up and going about its day. Having a very long way to go, I looked at the old buildings and started to walk.

Every other time, I came out here from Herford, I took the underground. Sadly that hadn't been built yet and I had to walk. I could catch a horse drawn cab, but wanted to save my money.

Besides the obvious differences in the fact that there were no cars or anything modern, one thing really stuck out. It was the people. As I walked, I started to see many laborers walking in crude clothes to their work. You could see that many of these people had had a hard life. I could see it etched in their faces and in their eyes. In my research I had seen pictures of men working long hours under the most miserable conditions. These were those men. Many of the older ones looked tired and worn out. I also noticed that people in 1869 London, often didn't smell all that great. Many smelled of sweat and misery.

They paid me little attention as I walked. With my clothes, I appeared to be just another out of work soldier. Only upon closer examination would once notice the long hair and soft feminine features. But not to tempt fate, I avoided looking anyone in the eye.

It was odd; I kept expecting to find myself walking off a film set to find lights and cameras just around a corner. But this was no film set. The horses, buggy's, wagons, cobble stone streets, workmen were all the real deal.

I even spotted a crudely dressed prostitute in a well-worn and torn red velvet dress. Her make-up was crudely done and she looked to be a solid veteran of the streets. She was leaning up against a building, waiting. It then occurred to me that Jack the ripper in about 19 short years would begin his reign of terror right in this neighborhood.

Besides the workmen, I spotted many poor and destitute. I spotted a group of children dressed in rags, playing tag in an alley. They looked fifthly and their hair looked very unkempt. Not wanting to attract attention, I just averted my eyes and kept going. I also spotted more than one beggar.

I can see now why Charles Dickens wrote of the poor and the misery of the down and out. It was everywhere. Many would choose to ignore it, but he obviously didn't.

Being hungry after walking for an hour, I passed a number of food vendors at crude little stands. For 2 pence I bought an apple and a small loaf of bread. Someone had some sausages, but they looked rather nasty. Of course, being in Victorian England, I had to get acquainted with the completely insane money system they have.

They had 20 shillings to a pound, 12 pence to a shilling. There was a florin which was 2 shilling, a half crown which was 2 shilings and 6 pence, there was the farthing, the quarter farthing, the 3rd farthing, the half farthing, the half-penny, 3 pence, a groat or a Joey which was 4 pence, a bob and of course a guinea which was just over a pound. They had coins of all dominations and sizes not to mention there were slang words for nearly every coin they had. It gives me a fucking headache, just thinking about it.

I ate along the way and just blended in. Thankfully most everyone paid me no mind. One or two did give me strange looks as I was wearing a US Army coat, hat and boots.

About 2 hours into my walk, it started to rain. It's England, it has to rain. I think it's a law or something. I could have fallen for the girl with the blonde pixie cut hair and the huge breasts who bartends at the pub I hang out at. But noooo….I had to fall for a girl who lives in 1869. It's probably better anyway as the girl with the pixie cut seems to love very built and rather stupid men. But I am a bit biased, as I pretty much think all men are stupid.

I was about half way to my goal and thankfully the rain had paused for a time. I was in a working class section of London when I heard from behind me.

"Hey you're an American. I recognize that uniform."

Stopping I spun around to see a guy, with brown hair who looks to be around 20's, in crude dirty clothes coming up behind me. He studied me for a moment then his eyes suddenly went wide. "Hey….you're a girl."

I scowled at him and snorted sarcastically. "Aren't you a bright one."

He seemed put off for a moment, but smiled revealing very ugly looking teeth. I don't think he owns a toothbrush. "Hey…If you're new in town. I'd be happy to show you some sights…." At this point he put his hand on my thigh. "And after maybe you and I can go…."

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, as I promptly kicked him in the nuts. Judging by the rather shocked look on his face, he really wasn't expecting that. He stood there for a moment before grabbing his crotch. He then crumpled to the ground, with a loud groan.

A few other people who seemed to standing nearby looked at me, almost as shocked as he was. Apparently they had never seen a woman kick a man in the nuts before. At least on the street.

Smirking I leaned over and said. "Listen up, you lousy glock. It's not nice to touch a woman without permission. Especially one WHO DOESN'T LIKE TO BE TOUCHED. If you know whats good for you. You'll stay on the ground until I'm out of sight."

Playing the part, I tossed in a Victorian era slang word. In the 19th century, the word glock meant half-wit.

That done, I stood up and walked away. Though as I left, at least one woman gave me an approving nod. As I got further up the road, I turned to see the man get up and limp off in the opposite direction.

But again my luck changed and it began to rain again. This time it didn't stop. So I walked through the rain across London. Finally I reached the outskirts of London, I was now only a few miles from Herford. But by then, I was pretty much soaked to the bone and my legs and arms hurt like hell. I am carrying two bags after all.

As I approached Herford, I found it strange that half the town I was familiar with simply wasn't there. Where the movie theatre was, there was a field. Were block of apartments was, there was now a grove of trees.

But wearily I trudged on. From my research, I learned the Tavern/Inn that Tori's father ran was on the far edge of town, near the large park which still exists today. The Tavern itself was torn down sometime around 1917. Tori and her family lived in a decent sized house that sat next door. That house was torn down in 1956. The land he once owned is now all, rather dull looking houses.

Finally after 6 and a half hours of walking, I reached Herford. A chunk of the town was as I remembered it. I even passed the sight of the bakery which 145 years from now I'll live in. But now a stable sits in its place.

But at that point I went across the street to St. Michaels church. It looked very much the same, except for the grave yard around it looked much smaller. But what brought a smile to my weary face, was the fact there was no grave in the spot where Tori was buried in my time.

Continuing on, my legs, screamed in pain as I walked the last mile to the inn. But with each step, my heart beat faster as that meant I was getting closer to Tori. I would finally see her. That was pretty much the only thing that kept me going.

Finally I reached it. Standing in the still pouring rain, I found myself in front of a large two story wooden structure. A sign hung above the door.

"3 Bell's Inn."

Nearly exhausted and filled with anticipation I walked in the door. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the dim candle light, but I found myself in a large common room. There were a number of wooden tables and chairs, half of which were occupied by various people. To my right along the wall was a bar, with several casks on shelves behind it. To my left, through a doorway was a small dining room. Past that was a stairway going up to a balcony. I could see 4 doors up there, which were rooms at the inn.

Then I saw her.

She was standing the bar, chatting with some older man who was seated at a table. She had a smile on her face and seemed to be engrossed in a lively conversation. Tori was wearing nice but simple looking white dress and her hair was up.

At that moment, the fact that I was nearly exhausted, sore and soaking wet, didn't even remotely bothered me. I stood there paralyzed and awestruck by her beauty. The picture which I had, and I carried didn't even remotely do her justice. From the doorway she I could see the most beautiful brown eyes I'd ever seen. She had flawless cheekbones and a gorgeous face. Her smile was beyond my imagination.

After a moment she stopped talking with the man and looked directly at me. I literally thought my heart would explode. She then smiled and began to walk towards me. My Jaw opened wide and my mind suddenly stopped working.

"Hello sir and welcome to the 3 bells inn." She said in an English accented voice, which was like that of an angel.

"Ah…." That was all I was capable of that moment. There she was, my love my obsession, standing in front of me. Still I could not move or even think. Part of me wanted to declare my eternal love right then and there. Even if that was a good idea, which it wasn't, I could barely speak."

She tiled her head and looked me over with a concerned look. "My sir…you looked soaked to the bone and very tired. Well you've come to the right place."

"Ah….Mi…Miss….Miss…..I….I….I'm a girl….woman….I mean miss….female….I'm a girl." I sputtered out looking very much like a fool. Someday, I'll be able to form complete sentences again.

She took another look at me and tilted her head. "A girl indeed, your clothes were a bit deceiving. And an American on top of it. Judging by your accent."

I nodded.

"So….What brings you to Herford?"

My mind went wild. You…you..yes…you…my eternal love.. let me carry you up to the nearest bedroom so I can worship you. Then we can get married tomorrow, no…now. Have babies…lots of babies. Oh god…she's got me so screwed up, I'm already planning our family and I hate babies. All they do is poop and cry. I hope they all have her perfect eyes. I am so fangirling right now. It's embarrassing.

Instead I managed to mumble. "I'm…I'm trav…traveling. Seeing England." Yes. I travel across 145 years of time, meet Tori and promptly fall apart.

Tori quickly nodded. "Well, Welcome to Herford. Have a seat and a pint if you like. We serve a limited dinner menu after 6 pm. Unfortunately we have no available rooms, but….."

"Job." I said, as my mind partially came back to life.

"What?" She said suddenly looking puzzled.

Realizing I was on the verge of blowing my one way in, I managed to piece myself together. "Well I'm traveling and need some funds. I'm looking for some work. I heard someone in the village say that one of your servant girls just left you're fathers employ. I'm a good hard worker. I can't say I'll stay forever, but this is a nice place and I could stay for a few months until you find a permanent replacement. You'll have to excuse my odd behavior. I've been walking for hours in the rain and I'm cold, wet and tired."

From the look on Tori's face she seemed to understand. "Quite excusable. We get many tired travelers here." She then thought for a moment and looked even more confused. "You heard that Molly left?"

I nodded. "I overheard someone in the village talking about it."

Tori scratched her head. "So strange, she told my father she was leaving less than hour ago."

Shit. Had I arrived a bit earlier I would have ended up asking for the job, before she quit. Thinking quickly, I responded. "Small towns. News and gossip does travel fast."

"You're quite right." Tori said with a smile as she extended her hand. "You'll have to talk to my father, but I think you'll do. I'm Victoria Walker. Please to meet you."

I quickly shook her hand but at that point, my mind went wild again. She's touching me….her skin is so soft and warm. I want to kiss it. If she touches me anymore, I think I'll just have an orgasm on the spot.

"Ah…I'm Jade….Jade West. I'm from Los Angeles, California."

Tori then pointed a door near the bar. "Well Jade West of Los Angeles, California, Come with me. My fathers in his office. I have the utmost confidence he will approve your employment."

I couldn't help but grin. "Perfect."

**Well they finally meet and Jade promptly goes to pieces. But she's been through a lot and it's understandable. **

**I hope you all enjoyed them meeting.**


	11. Roughing It

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years. **

**Chapter 11 – Roughing it**

**Jade's POV**

"Right this way, Jade." Tori said as she led me through the inn.

I followed her to the far right corner, near one end of the bar where there was a door. I followed Tori through the door to a small hallway. To the left was a kitchen to the right was a door which Tori knocked on.

"Yes." Said a stern voice from within.

"Father, it's me Victoria, may I enter?"

"Yes come in."

Tori opened the door and I followed her in. The room was a small office. In the center sat a large wooden desk cluttered with papers of all sorts. Behind him was some shelves with various books. The office had other things, paintings, a sword hanging on the wall, but I didn't pay much attention that.

Instead I focused on Tori's father, he appeared to be a man in his late 40's, early 50's, with greying hair and piercing blue eyes. Upon me walking in he immediately eyed me with a strange look.

"Father, This is Jade West. An American, from Los Angeles, in California. She is traveling, seeing England and heard that Molly quit. She is looking for a job."

For a moment his eyes narrowed. "Come forth please." He said.

"A most unusual manner of dress. If you don't mind me saying so."

I guessed that may be one of his comments. "I have been traveling so I wear clothes that can take some wear and tear. That and dressed as a man, I tend to get bothered less. The coat, hat and boots are my late fathers."

"He served in your recent Civil war? I'm a military man myself. Retired of course."

I could tell he was once an army officer. His bearing was stern and serious and he sat up straight, his eyes, never diverting from me.

"Yes, my father Richard West did serve in the civil war. We had moved west to California in 1858, when the war broke my father returned to his native Michigan and signed up for the 5th, Michigan Cavalry, Company E. Serving from 1862 to 1865 and rising to the rank of sergeant. He fought in numerous battles, including Gettysburg."

My father is Richard West and he was born in Michigan, that much of it is true. While he obviously didn't serve in the civil war, his Great Great Grandfather did serve in that very regiment. In reality, my father is an executive at an insurance company.

He looked mildly impressed and seemed to think for a moment before nodding. "I see. You are traveling and seeing England."

"Yes. My father died about a year ago. Since then my mother sold the family business, for a good sum of money. We sold horses. I've always wanted to see some of the world. My father had a huge library in our home; I've read about all these places in the world and thought I might go see some."

"What did your mother think of your little trip?"

"Actually she was fine with it. Her family is originally from Bavaria and has some distant relatives there. I promised I would visit them before I returned. Her father raised her to be very independent and thus she did as me."

He took it all in without changing his expression. "You mentioned you read in your father's library. You are literate I take?"

I couldn't help but smirk at this point. "Yes sir. In both English and in Spanish. Though I'm more familiar with the Mexican dialect. My father got me the best education that was available."

Tori who has been standing next to me suddenly lit up. "You speak Spanish? My mother was from Spain. Since my sister has gotten married. I've had no one to speak it with."

I turned to Tori with a smile. "Estaría más que feliz de hablar a español." I do actually speak Spanish fluently. I took it in school and also made pains to know pretty much every Spanish swear word and insult in existence.

"Muy Bien, Gracias." She said with a grin."

Turning back to Tori's father, I said. "I told your daughter, I can't promise I'll stay forever, but I am a very hard worker and can stay for several months until you find a more permanent replacement. Herford is a nice town and I wouldn't mind staying a while."

"Good, Good. You seem quite suited. You've come right in time. I am in need of a servant as Molly has just quit. She has just gotten engaged and will be moving up to Yorkshire when she marries. The duties will be split between maintaining the house which is immediately behind the inn and helping in the inn itself. When working in the house you will report to my housekeeper, Mrs. Bailey. Working here you will report to either me or my daughter. I can pay you 3 Schillings, 6 pence a week. Is that satisfactory?"

I nodded. "Fine, perfect. I do have one question."

"Go ahead."

"Are lodgings included? If not, do you know of a room I can rent somewhere nearby."

"Well in the house itself no. Molly, lived just up the street with her parents, so she didn't live in the house."

Tori then interjected. "Sorry to interrupt father. But what of the old gamekeeper's cabin."

He quickly nodded. "Perfect. My property along with the park adjacent, was once part of a larger estate, belonging to the Leeway family. At the far end of my property, about a half mile back, there is a small cabin. It used to belong to the gamekeeper that they once employed. I do not employ a gamekeeper so it has gone unused. The cabin itself is sturdily built and remains in good condition. How about I let you stay here, and we adjust your salary to 3 schillings, 3 pence a week. If that is not satisfactory, I believe Mrs. Currie has a room to…

"No. That will be perfectly fine." I said cutting him off. I just wanted the job. I would have even slept in the stables, that's how much I wanted this. Though, I'd rather sleep closer to Tori, like in the same bed, being in a cabin may be a good thing. It would give me some privacy. When not working, I can entertain myself by listening to music or watching movies on my kindle.

He nodded with a smile and extended his hand. "Excellent. Welcome aboard. I'll have you shown to your quarters and you can then start tomorrow. You look both tired and wet and I'm sure you would like to unpack your things. Mrs. Bailey will fill you in."

He then turned to Tori. "Victoria. Take Miss West to the house and introduce her to Mrs. Bailey. Tell her that she is Molly's replacement and she will be starting tomorrow."

"Of course father."

Tori gestured me to follow her and I followed her down the hallway out the back door. From there, we took a small stone path to the their house. Thankfully it had stopped raining at this point.

The house itself was a decent sized 3 story wooden Victorian house. While not a mansion in any respect, it was very nice and looked rather elegant. It reminded me a bit of the old plantation houses I would see in civil war movies. The front of the house had a large porch with a few wicker chairs and tables.

I said little, as we walked, but I deliberately stayed behind her so I could just watch her. I wanted to see how she held her head, how she walked. I wanted to know everything about her, even the smallest detail. I even studied the dress she was wearing and her shoes.

She was indeed a creature of beauty. I also said nothing as I was afraid I would spout out more nonsense and look even more the fool. Just the sight of her, the way her brown hair falls across her graceful shoulders does things to me. Not even Becca had this effect on me. I never wanted to have her babies, I don't even think the thought ran across my mind.

Tori's making all kinds of thoughts run across my mind, giving birth to her babies is just one of them. How on earth, does she make me feel so girly? I find myself feeling rotten as I don't look pretty enough for her. I'm an angry, mean pissed off Goth, I'm not supposed to care if a I'm pretty enough for a girl. They should feel that way about me. A good number of the rest of my thoughts involve her being naked and in some of them naked and wet.

We entered the house and were in a foyer where Tori called out for Mrs. Bailey. A moment later a woman who looked to be in her early 60's with greying hair in a bun, a black dress and a dour expression came from the back of the house. The expression got even dourer when she eyed me.

"Yes Miss Victoria?" She said in a more working class British accent.

"Mrs. Bailey, This is Jade West, an American. She is taking, at least for a few months, Molly's duties. She will be staying in old gamekeeper's cabin. See that she is shown the way there and made as comfortable as possible. She will be starting tomorrow. "

Mrs. Bailey nodded. "Yes Miss Victoria."

Tori then turned to me and gave me a smile that made my heart jump. "We'll I shall see you tomorrow. Mrs. Bailey will show you to your quarters. If you have any questions in regards to your duties, feel free to ask. If you will excuse me, I need to return to the inn."

I smiled back and indulged myself by looking into her brown eyes maybe a bit longer than one normally would. I just couldn't help myself. If she noticed me looking at her a bit longer, she made no sign that she did so. "Of course. It was very nice meeting you."

Tori then turned and left, leaving me with Mrs. Bailey. Despite her rather dour expression, she was actually quite nice.

"You looked soaked to the bone child. And cold. Before I take you to your quarters, let me get you some hot tea to warm you up a bit. I've just made some."

She lead me through the very nice house into the kitchen where we I sat at a wooden table. A moment later she put a cup of steaming hot tea in front of me. While I've never been a tea lover, after having walked in the rain for hours, it warmed me up nicely.

We chatted a bit, I told her my cover story and she told me that she and her husband had been working for the Walker family for over 13 years. She is the housekeeper and her husband Thomas is the cook. Her name is Catherine. They have small quarters in the back of the house. There were two other servants working for the family, A kitchen maid named Emily who worked with the cook and another servant named Robert who was both a handyman and took care of their horses.

Mrs. Baily explained that I will both be working I the kitchen and around the house. I know that normally duties were more specific, a kitchen servant wouldn't make the beds, but that's the way it would run here. Of course I would spend some hours working in the inn as well. Emily and Robert also had small rooms in the back of the house.

She explained that she expected hard work, which I promised to give. After the tea was done, she fetched some thick wool blankets from a back closet and let me out of the house.

"The gamekeeper's cabin hasn't been used in some years, but Mr. Walker had seen that it was kept in decent condition and cleaned on a regular basis. He's very much a military mind in some things. Keeping everything looking proper and well maintained. In fact Colin who is the bartender and keeps things going in the inn, is Mr. Walker's former batman from the army." Mrs. Bailey said as she led me into the woods behind the house, down a trail.

"Batman?" With my luck, the Joker will show up.

"Oh. That's another name for what you Americans call an orderly. A low ranking solder how is a personal aid, servant and a valet to an officer. Colin's served Mr. Walker, since his days in India."

"I see."

She led me down the path about half a mile and suddenly a rustic cabin came into view.

"Beyond the cabin, a short ways is a stream where you can get water."

The cabin itself was in a small clearing and looked well maintained. In addition to the cabin I could see what looked like 2 small sheds nearby. The first once was directly behind the house. I guessed that was storage shed. Further away at the edge of the clearing was the second one.

It took me all of 3 seconds to realize. That was no shed. Oh goodie, I get to use an outhouse, just what I've always dreamed of. Sarcasm alert people. The things I do for love. I'm not going to think of that now. I think I'll just hold it for another 150 years.

"I think there is some firewood stacked on the side of the cabin. I'll have Robert bring some more out to you. If you need anything else, Mr. Walker operates a dry goods store in town. You should be able to buy anything else you need."

The cabin had a small porch on the front with a rocking chair to the right of the doorway. Pushing aside my disdain for cabins and all things rural, I smiled and followed her inside.

To my right along the wall, was a fireplace. It even had one of those little arms that you could swing over the fire to cook things on. In front of the fireplace were two old but sturdy looking chairs. On the opposite wall was a bookshelf with some old books and other things on it. Next to that was a small chest of drawers. To my left was a dry sink and come cabinets above it. Also next to the dry sink on the right wall, was a small wood burning pot-bellied stove. On the left side of the far wall was a door. There were two windows. One on the front to the right of the doorway and one on the left wall, behind the pot-bellied stove. It looked relatively clean, but smelled a bit musty.

"I believe you will find some candles and matches in that chest of drawers next to the book-case. That door there leads to the bedroom. You will find a bed and a small dresser. You look around while I put these thick blankets on the bed. I think there are some linens in there."

"Little house on the fucking prairie" I muttered under my breath as I looked around. There were a few other odds and ends in the room. On a shelf above the fire place was a clock which would need to be wound. Above that, mounted on the wall, was what appeared to be an old muzzle loading rifle. I also spotted 2 lanterns on the bottom shelf of the book case.

Mrs. Bailey came back into the room. "I took the liberty of making up your bed for you. I expect you to be in the kitchen tomorrow morning at 6 am sharp. Unless you have any other questions, I'll leave you to your unpacking."

I shook my head. "No. Mrs. Bailey. Thank you."

A few seconds later I was alone. Only then did I realized how cold and wet I still was. My whole body ached, with my legs hurting especially.. Not to mention, it was a bit chilly in the cabin itself. Surprisingly I managed get a fire going with some fire wood from out back and some matches I found in a drawer.

I drew the crude curtains over the windows and stripped out of my wet clothes. Like the frontierswoman I have no choice in being, I laid my wet clothes by the fire to dry. I was too tired to unpack, so I just put my bags down and went into the bedroom. Looking around, I half expected to turn to see that I had wandered into a museum exhibit.

As crude as the bed was, it looked very inviting. It was midafternoon, but I was exhausted. I quickly changed into my sleeping clothes and set may phones alarm for 5:15 the next morning. I'll screw with the clock on the mantle, later. So I crawled under the thick woolen blankets and fell asleep nearly the second I put my head on the feather pillow.

**Estaría más que feliz de hablar a español = I would be more than happy to speak to you in Spanish.**

**Muy Bien, Gracias = Very good, thank you.**

**A gamekeeper is a person employed by a landowner. He would have the job of making sure there were enough game for shooting, fish for fishing etc. He also was responsible for keeping poachers off the property. He would also procure game for the family as well.**

**The 5th Michigan Cavalry was a real civil war unit and saw many battles. One of its members was responsible for the death of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart in battle.**


	12. Upstairs-Downstairs

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 12 – Upstairs/Downstairs**

**Jade's POV.**

The next thing I knew my alarm was buzzing. Much to my surprise I slept from midafternoon until 5:15 the next morning. I'd like to say that I felt well rested, but that crude bed would take a bit getting used to.

The next thought I had depressed me completely. It was that I realized I had to go to the bathroom. After a minute I crawled out of bed and stood in a somewhat cold cabin for a few seconds. Then I decided to brave the outhouse.

The first unpleasantness of my day was that I had to walk outside across the cold dew covered ground.

"Son of a bitch. Stupid morning dew. I hate it." I cursed loudly as I walked to the outhouse.

Upon arriving at the outhouse, I detected what I'll merely describe as "The Smell". A smell so rank, that no amount of the spray stuff that my mom keeps in the bathroom would cover up. I nearly threw up as I walked in the little wooden outhouse.

Entering, I was greeted by the sight of a round hole on the small platform in a room which was the size of a small closet. I didn't bother to look down the hole, no person should have to see that. Of course it got even better when I noticed what they had for toilet paper; some old rags. Thank god, I only had to pee.

After peeing quickly, I quickly fled the outhouse and returned to the cabin. Normally I would take a hot shower to wake up and get clean. But that wasn't an option. I didn't even have any soap. But considering the smell I detected from some of the people here, bathing wasn't done all that often.

So I did the best I could, I threw on my shoes, grabbed a pitcher from the cabinet and got some water from the stream. Taking a drink, it was cool and clean, at least something here didn't smell.

After splashing water on my face, I combed my hair and dressed in my other dress. The entire time, I had to ignore my hunger and desperate need for a coffee, from the yet to be invented Java Barn.

I hated the conditions, but all I had to think of was that Tori' s grave in 2014 to spur me on. I refuse to let the Victorian age beat me, I am Jade West and I will crush it. I also think of it this way, if I'm ever up for a part during the Victorian era, I've got it nailed. The last thing I did was put my phone on the solar charger. I did take pains to put it in a way, it would not easily be seen.

At this point a thought occurred to me and I dug my kindle out of my bag. I had scanned in all of Tori's dairies and maybe I could see what she wrote last night. Would they change with me interacting with her? I desperately wanted to know what she thought of me.

But my spirits soon feel as I read the entry.

_April 29th, 1869_

_"It rained most of the day. The big news was that_ _Molly, the servant, quit today as she has just gotten engaged to her beau, Richard Howe. She was always a quiet sort, but very attentive to her work. __She will be busy planning her wedding and will also soon be moving away. __ I hope father will be able to hire someone to replace her soon. Until then, we will have to do without. I spent some time working on my needlepoint, but otherwise it was a pretty normal day. I find myself wondering what life will be like when I live in the Oliver estate. They have many more servants than we do. I just know I will be happy there. I have my doubts, but I'm positive they will disappear, once I happily settle into married life."_

It didn't change, after re reading the entry three times, I realized the entry didn't change. Not one single word changed from the first time I read it and no mention of me. I know from her comments she always wrote in her journals just before she went to sleep. So she would have known of me by then. Somehow the diaries I have stayed exactly as they were. So much for knowing what Tori is thinking. I guess the powers that be have decided, that would be one advantage too many. I guess I'll have to earn this one.

Ready for my first full day in 1869, I headed down the path towards the Walker home. I arrived a few minutes before 6. Entering the back way, as all proper servants should. I found myself in the kitchen where a middle aged man looked at me with a smile.

"Hello, you must be Jade. I'm Thomas Bailey, the cook. My wife told me that you would be starting today. I've made some coffee. The pot's on the stove. I'm not sure if you drink it. "

"COFFFEE! THAT WONDERFUL, BLACK, LIFE GIVING BLOOD THAT IS ESSENTIAL TO SUSTAIN HUMAN LIFE. GIMMIE, GIMMIE, GIMMIE." My mind immediately shrieked.

"Thank you. I could really use some." I said, while ignoring my internal excitement.

"You'll find a cup in the cupboard to the left of the stove.

Badly in need of some coffee, I found a cup and poured myself some from the antique coffee pot, which was on the stove.

I immediately took a drink, only to discover the coffee was both crude and extremely strong. I 'm pretty sure you could strip paint with it. Regardless, it was coffee and I drank it .

Feeling marginally better, I turned to Tom. "So, where do I start."

"Well, my wife left you out a proper servant's uniform for you. She guessed at the size. It belonged to a servant that quit some years ago. After you change into that, you can help me in preparing breakfast. Breakfast itself, will consist of Devilled Kidneys, Kedgiree, muffins and fresh milk from one of the local farms. Breakfast is served promptly at 7:30. Mr. Walker is very strict on punctuality. A holdover from his old army days. But I'm used to that, as I was once a soldier myself. Was wounded fighting the Ashanti in 29. " He said while slapping his leg, obviously showing the location of an old wound.

I wasn't familiar with the Ashanti conflict, but the British army was involved with numerous conflicts in the 1800's as they expanded their empire. Undoubtedly that was one of them. I just nodded quietly.

I found a small empty storage room and changed into the uniform, which was a simple all black dress. Despite my experience with time travel, it still was a bit disorientating. Here I was in a house full of antiques and not a single modern device to be seen. Not only that, the clothes, the attitudes, everything. But I pressed on. Not only did I have a mission I was actress and I would play my part. I guess I get to be a method actress for a few months. No problem.

Returning to the kitchen, "Tom looked me over. Good. It fits. My wife was worried she would have to make some alterations. Oh. Once the main meal is prepared, we make simple one for the guests at the inn who have paid for it. Thought that is usually just porridge. The staff eats here in the kitchen at the table once everyone else is fed. "

In the center of the kitchen was a large round wooden table, with several chairs. The kitchen itself, looked like the ones I've seen in movies and TV shows. In my research, I even stooped so low as to watch the hideously boring Downton Abbey. It would be better if more people died. The kitchen had a huge wooden stove, prep areas and a sink with old fashioned pump. A door at one end of the kitchen led to the pantry, another door led to the dining room.

A moment later a young woman of about 22 years of age, with light brown hair in a tight bun came in. "You must be Jade. The new girl. I'm Emily Hughes, the kitchen Maid. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said in a wonderfully crisp, Welsh accent.

I quickly made a mental note to lean to copy that accent. I could use it on stage or in a production.

"Nice to meet you Emily." I said as I shook her hand.

"Emily, see that Jade gets started." Said Tom as he walked into the pantry.

Emily took the coffee pot and poured some of it into a smaller pot. "Jade, take this out to the barn and give it to Robert. To get to the barn, go out the back door and take the path to left. It will be just past the trees."

I did so and met Robert, who was sort of a grumpy loner type, but that didn't bother me. Upon returning, I was put to work doing menial prep work. It was like prep work in any kitchen, except I did it all the old fashioned way, which took 10 times longer than I was used to. But without complaint, I got my nose to the grindstone. Everyone except Robert was nice, but once they started to work, they were all business. There was some chatter and a little gossip, but Mrs. Bailey seemed to frown on it. I did get a lot of questions about America and if I had ever been an Indian attack. I had done my homework and stuck with my character and cover story. That I was the daughter of a horse trader from Los Angeles California who was born in Michigan. I told them that I remember the trek westward in a covered wagon, but said it was very boring and the Indians didn't bother us any. I figured it would be best not to embellish too much. If go and make up wild stories of the old west, or in this case the current west, it will only invite trouble.

A minute before the large clock struck 7, Emily poured a cup of coffee in a china cup and placed it on a silver tray. "Jade, Mr. Walker takes his coffee in the dining room promptly at 7:00 am. Could you take it out to him please."

"Of course."

The second the clock struck 7:00 AM. I took the coffee and walked out into the dining room, where I found Mr. Walker, already dressed and looking at some papers.

"Your coffee sir." I said as I placed it on the table in front of him.

I knew from my research, that striking up a conversation shouldn't be done. Servants were meant to serve and not talk. Unless spoken to first.

"Very good. Thank you Jade. How is the cabin? Are you settled in yet?" He said after taking a quick sip of his coffee.

"The cabin is perfectly fine. I went to sleep right away and haven't had much time to get unpacked. I also need to stop at the store and pick up a few items when I get the chance. Thank you again for employing me."

He nodded and turned to his papers again. "Very good. Thank you Jade."

Realizing, I was being dismissed I left quickly.

I spent the last half an hour helping to ready the breakfast dishes and helping set the table. It was long hard work, but I just kept thinking of that lonely gravestone. If I fail, that gravestone will be waiting for me when I return.

At 7:30 sharp, Emily and I served breakfast. I'll admit seeing Tori in a beautiful white dress, made me smile broadly. It was the highlight of my morning and made me feel as if I was walking on air for a moment.

"Hello Jade. Are you settling in ok?" She said with a cheery smile.

I smiled back. "Yes. Miss Victoria, I am fine. Thank you."

"Very good."

I'd be lying if I didn't hope she would invite me to eat with them or at least talk, but just as quickly, she turned to her father and began to speak of the fitting of her wedding dress that was taking place in a few days. It was as if, I was suddenly no longer there, which kind of hurt. Hearing the name Beckett mentioned a moment later, only plunged my spirits further back to earth, as a rather distinct scowl formed on my face.

At that moment, I heard the voice Mr. Mahan, my acting teacher from the previous year at college, boom in my head. "Stay in the part, don't get distracted. You're fucking it up."

He was right, I'm a servant and I need to not let this get in my way. I quickly removed the scowl from my face and replaced it with a more neutral expression and went about my work serving breakfast..

I could see now that my work was cut out for me. Though the dairies would be of some use as they would tell when certain events would happen. I could no longer know what Tori was thinking. I only could read what originally happened. On top of that, I had to remember what I was.

I knew what I wanted to be and that was a lover, but for now, I'm just a lowly servant.

**Author's note: Now while the journal entry remained the same on Jade's kindle, Tori did in fact write something different. For your benefit, you will be able to read what Jade could not.**

_April 29th, 1869_

_A strange day indeed. First it rained most of the day, which isn't that strange. __Molly, the servant quit today as she has just gotten engaged to her beau, Richard Howe. She was always a quiet sort, but very attentive to her work. _She will be busy planning her wedding and will also soon be moving away. But oddly enough less than an hour after Molly quit, a strange woman entered the inn. I thought at first she was a solider of some kind. But quickly identified herself as a woman and inquired about the position that Molly had just quit. 

_At that second I realized she was a woman, I looked at her eyes. They were a stunning blue green, I could look at them for hours. Not only that she was simply beautiful. Even as oddly dressed as she was, I couldn't help but notice. All of this caused my heart to beat furiously. I quickly became aware she was looking at me most strangely. It was of course as she caught me looking at her and didn't know what to make of me. She probably thought I to be most rude in my prolonged stare. I did try to cover it, but I need to control my unholy impulses and will pray forgiveness before I go to bed. _

_Father hired this Jade and she will be staying in the old gamekeeper's cabin. I was excited to know that she speaks Spanish. I could talk with someone in my mother's native tongue. I told father that I would have many questions about American and was looking forward to getting to know this Jade. _

_But father quickly reminded me that I am getting married in just over 2 months and need to focus on the task at hand. While he said he was quite impressed by her ability to read and write in two languages, he reminded me that she is one of the help. He said that getting to know and being friendly with our new servant is perfectly fine, a distance must be maintained. _

_He is quite right of course. I find myself wishing she was of higher status and I could get to know her as a friend. Still, i have a funny feeling about her. It's just the way she carries herself, it's so different than I've ever seen. But I need to focus on my responsibility, Marrying Beckett Oliver and realizing I can be happy as his wife. I know I can be. I know I can. I just need to focus on keeping thinking that and all will be well._

**More of Jade's first day in the next chapter. But already she's run smack dab into the class barriers that were common in Victorian England. Upper class people kept the company of other upper class people and being friends with the lower classes was not something that one would do. Tori is a product of that society and finds herself torn between her upbrining and her interest in Jade. **

**Devilled Kidneys was a common breakfast dish in Victorian times. The other dish mentioned, Kedgiree, is also a common breakfast dish in those times and was commonly made with Rice, Haddock, eggs, parsley and butter. **

**The title of the chapter is a reference to the classic British Television series of the same name. A show that followed the wealthy Bellamy Family during the Victorian age. At the same time if also followed the lives of the servants that kept the house running.**

**When Thomas the cook to being wounded by the Ashanti in 29, he is referring to the 1st Anglo-Ashanti war that took place in what's now called Ghana from 1823-1831. It was between the British Empire and the native Ashanti Empire. It has no bearing on the story, but thought I would explain it none the less.**


	13. Not in our stars

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 13 – Not in our stars.**

**Jade's POV**

As Victoria and her father ate breakfast, we prepared a simple porridge for the 3 guests at the inn that had requested breakfast. I delivered that then helped clear the table as Tori and her father had finished eating breakfast. Once that was done Thomas the cook, made a simple but hardy meal for us. It consisted of eggs, bacon, toast and milk that had been squeezed from a cow only a few hours earlier. The milk was a bit different, but I was hungry and didn't care. The food was actually pretty good.

Once our breakfast was prepared we ate, in the kitchen. Being new, they asked me a few more questions about America, California and the old west. I stuck with my cover story and answered the questions as best I could.

After eating, Emily was assigned to cleaning dishes and the kitchen and Mrs. Bailey took me to help with some of the household duties. I could only imagine what she'd have me do first.

From a closet, she pulled out a greenish ceramic pot with a lid and handed it to me.

"Your first duties will be to empty the slop or if you're not familiar with it. Take this pot and empty the chamber pots in Mr. Walker and Miss. Tori's bedrooms. Once the slop is emptied into the privy outside, you will take the soap from the downstairs closet and thoroughly clean both the slop bucket and chamber pots. Once cleaned and dried, they should be put back under the beds. Once you're done with that, you can assist me in changing the linens"

Chamber pot? Seriously you said chamber pot? Oh goodie, I travel back more than a hundred years and I get to do what for the girl of my dreams? Clean her up her piss, that's what! It took every bit acting skill I had, not to visibly cringe at the thought of it.

I just bowed slightly, grabbed the slop bucket and set off to work. Heading upstairs, I first went to Mr. Walkers room and looked under the bed where I spotted the white ceramic chamber pot. Pulling it ou,t I did cringe as I could see it had been used.

"So Jade, how did you spend your summer vacation?" I muttered as I emptied the vessel.

Next was Tori's, but I felt much different as I crept into her room. Though I had perfect reason to be there, I felt like an intruder as I crept into the empty room. Mrs. Bailey told me, Tori had gone riding this morning and wouldn't be back until lunch.

The first thing I noticed was the faint smell of wildflowers. I could see a bunch in a vase by her bed. The room had a large 4 poster bed, an antique dresser and a vanity table with chair. There was also a large trunk at the foot of the bed and a small bookcase in the corner.

I was in her room, though on one level I felt like an intruder, I also felt an odd thrill as I walked to her dresser to see her things laid neatly out on the dresser. I picked up a comb; it was the very same come that in 2014 I would find a single strand of hair on it. It looked much newer and had a lot more hairs caught in it. It felt so strange to be holding it again.

But I quickly snapped out of my reverie as I realized, that messing around in Tori's room, would not be a good idea. So I retrieved the chamber pot and did my duty, despite how disgusting it was.

When I was done with the rather horrible job of emptying and cleaning the chamber pots, I helped Mrs. Bailey change the linens then I scrubbed the pantry floor, after that I polished the sliver. In this household, there was always something to do and always something the needed cleaning.

Before I knew it lunch had come around and I was once again tasked to help with making and serving of lunch. Actually by the time I had arrived, Emily and Thomas had almost already finished making it. I would be serving lunch and helping with cleanup. Lunch today consisted of a vegetable soup, assorted cut meat and cheeses and a pudding for dessert.

Like Breakfast, lunch was always served at the exact same time each day. In this case, lunch is always served at 12:30 sharp.

Walking in the kitchen I could see Emily reading three bowls of soup on a gleaming silver tray. It had better gleam, as I was the one that polished the fucking thing.

I am now able to add to my long list of things I hate, the following

-chamber pots

-emptying chamber pots

-cleaning chamber pots.

-Polishing silver

I'm sure that list will grow much longer by the time I leave 1869.

I looked down at the three bowls. "Who's dining with Miss Victoria and Mr. Walker?'

Emily blushed a bit and couldn't help but gush. "It's Mr. Beckett, Miss Victoria's husband to be. He's joining them today."

Instantly I felt a sickening feeling form in the pit of my stomach. I would finally meet the villain of this tale. I was brought out of my thoughts, by the chime of the kitchen clock indicating it was 12:30.

"That's my cue." I said with a fake smile, which only resulted in a puzzled look by Emily.

Walking into the dining room, I could see Tori and her father both seated at the table. However across from Tori was a young, well dressed and even I'll admit, handsome man with thick black hair and sort of a roguish smile.

"Who's this?" He said with a raised eyebrow as he looked me over with a subtle look I've seen from horny men and women all too many times.

Avoiding the overwhelming temptation to take the nearest knife and shove it in his eye, I put on my best fake smile and said. "Miss Jade West of Los Angeles, California, at your service."

The only service I want to do him, is bury the asshole. I had read today's diary before I went to work and there was no mention of Beck coming over for lunch. But then again, lunch was never mentioned at all. I guess Tori left out details sometimes.

"Yes Beckett." Said Tori. "This is Miss Jade. She's an American and is traveling. She has taken a job as Molly's replacement for a while. Today is her first day."

He nodded politely and turned his smile on me. "Well it's nice to meet you Jade."

I nodded in return and played my part as a respectful servant perfectly. "Thank you Mr. Oliver." Despite I was screaming inside, at the fact I knew he would do to Tori. I get him now. He's charming and devilishly handsome, but behind that, lays a total self-centered asshole, with and utterly black heart. A bit like a male version of my ex girlfriend Becca. Wouldn't it be hideously ironic if Becca was his descendant?

Not wanting to be in his presence anymore, I quickly but efficiently served the soup and returned to the kitchen to get the rest of the food.

"Isn't he handsome?" Said Emily as I returned. I could tell she, like probably half the women in this town, had a crush on him.

Not wanting to be rude to Emily who was rather simple but nice, I shrugged noncommittally as I grabbed the next tray to be brought out. "I guess."

I served lunch and then went to help to dish the pudding that would be for dessert.

I came back out at the end of lunch with Emily to collect the dishes, so the pudding could be served. As I came out I could hear Beck boasting.

"I've been told I have some talent in the field of acting. Lord Ellsworth was so impressed by my reciting of the opening soliloquy from Richard the III, that he said I could be the next John Philip Kemble."

"Oh could I hear it please?" Said Tori, looking impressed, with irked me to no end.

I kept on working collecting dishes as I heard him speak.

"Now is the winter of our discontent  
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;  
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house  
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.  
Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths;  
Our bruised arms hung up for monuments;

Grim-visaged war hath smooth'd his wrinkled front;  
And now, instead of mounting barded steeds  
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,"

"Oh. That's so good Beckett." Tori said clapping and looking even more impressed than before, sending my jealousy meter off the scale.

But thinking over what he just said, I realized something and though it was a horribly idea, I couldn't resist.

"You forgot two of the lines", I said as I started to walk out of the room. Besides being an actor, I played the part of Lady Ann Neville from that play in high school.

Beck's smug smile abruptly melted off his face. "I'm sorry, What?"

By now both Tori and Mr. Walker were looking at me oddly. From the doorway, I could see Emily looking at me with a horrified expression her face.

I stood up and put a slight smirk on my face. "You did well, but you forgot two of the lines. After, Our Bruised arms hung up for monuments; you should have said."

I stood up straight and confidently said.

"Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,  
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures."

"Then comes the line, Grim-visaged war hath smooth'd his wrinkled front."

To say they looked stunned wasn't quite the word for it. Judging by the embarrassed look on Beck's face, he knew I was right.

"I..I…Think that's correct." He stammered briefly before trying to recover. "You are familiar with Shakespeare?" He said cautiously.

Besides the fact that I played in Richard the III, and Macbeth at different times, got an A+ last semester in my class on William Shakespeare.

"My father had an extensive library and believe it or not there was a small theatre troupe that operated in my area that was led by one of your former countrymen. His name was Barnabas Collins. I attended several of the performances and had a few minor parts."

Still looking slightly insulted, he said in a rather snotty tone. "Perhaps you could quote something for us."

I looked him straight in the eye and confidently recited another one.

"Men at some time are masters of their fates:  
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,  
But in ourselves, that we are underlings. Julius Caesar, Act 1, scene 2."

It was a quote about fate and in this case very appropriate. Beck sat there looking as if he didn't know what to make of me. Tori just looked really puzzled, and Mr. Walker's face had a very unreadable expression.

After a moment, Mr. Walker nodded politely. "That's quite good Miss Jade."

Realizing my jealous need to drop Beck down a few pegs, may have gotten me in hot water, I quickly bowed.

"Over the years I've grown to love Shakespeare and I just hate to see it misquoted. My apologies. If you'll excuse me, I have to attend to my duties."

I didn't want to apologize, but felt it was necessary as the last thing I needed was to lose my job.

As I walked into the kitchen, Emily looked at me as if I had strangled a whole basket of puppies. Mrs. Bailey quickly pulled me aside and mildly chewed me out for embarrassing Beck. I was reminded I was there to serve and had done an excellent job so far, but I was not hired to correct misquoted Shakespeare. I apologized profusely and was told to return to the duties of serving.

"You're lucky Miss Jade. Mr. Walker's father was a great lover of Shakespeare and he will understand, but don't press your luck." Mrs. Bailey said as I went back to work.

"I am sorry; I just let my passions get the best of me. It won't happen again."

When I returned, Beck gave me a rather dour look and Tori's father looked at me suspiciously for a moment. Tori's jaw I think was still hanging open from before.

Knowing it was the best course of action. I quickly swallowed my pride and apologized. "Again my apologies, Mr. Oliver. I meant no offense. I'd hate to see you embarrass yourself by misquoting it another time. My father always said, if you do something. do it right."

This time Beck eyed me suspiciously for a moment, but then begrudgingly accepted my apology. "Quite alright Miss Jade. I see you are quite passionate about Shakespeare. It's nice to know that not all Americans are totally uncultured."

I think there was an insult buried in there, but I half expected that. At this point I smiled, finished serving the pudding began to leave.

"That was very impressive Jade." A now smiling Tori said as she looked to me with admiration. Just seeing that, made my heart sing, right then and there.

I genuinely smiled back. "Thank you Miss Tori. If you'll excuse me."

As I left the room, I reminded myself that I needed to not let my jealousy interfere with my plan. Little victory's like that are nice, but could do more harm than good. I blow this job, I might possibly blow my chance to save Tori. I need to be more careful.

**John Phillip Kemble was a famous Shakespearian actor in the 19th century. **


	14. 1 day down

**Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 14 – 1 day down.**

**Jade's POV**

Fortunately I had gotten away with my little transgression. I just need to remember that servants need to serve and not be jealous smart asses.

After lunch was finished, Tori, Beck and her father retired to the parlor to talk. I and the other kitchen staff, cleaned up and ate our lunch, which consisted of beef sandwiches.

After lunch I was allowed to go to the dry goods store that Mr. Walker operated. It was down the street a small ways from the inn. I had told Mrs. Bailey that since I was new in town I needed to get some things, such as some candles, coffee, soap, etc.

I found the store and purchased some items I thought I would need. Some basic foodstuffs for the few days I'll have off. Normally I eat with the staff, on days off I am on my own for food. I bought some candles, some oil for one of the lamps, coffee beans, some canned food, rice, beans and some other things. I found a blank journal similar to the one that Tori writes in, so I purchased that, along with some ink and a pen. I found myself wanting to document my time here and keep my thoughts straight. Also as I've already had an idea for a horror story that I want to get on paper.

After dropping those items off at my home, I returned to the Walker home and arrived back by 2:00. By this time Beckett had left and Tori had gone to pay a social call on some neighbor. Mrs. Bailey told me that I would be spending the rest of the afternoon at the inn/tavern and would work there until supper.

Arriving at the inn, I reported to Mr. Walker who was in his office. He would spend most afternoons in his office going over his accounts and other business. Though he made no mention of the incident at lunch, he looked mildly annoyed. He told me clean the 2 vacant rooms and then report back to Colin, who runs the place day to day.

I found the cleaning materials and cleaned the rooms as instructed. For the next couple of hours I got to play waitress as a number of people had come in to have a good time. There is some army barracks a little ways out of town and usually there's a few soldiers lingering about at any given time.

I quickly found out that the men of this period are quite , as my ass was pinched more than once. Many of them were also very fascinated by the pretty, raven haired American who was the new barmaid. But much to my credit, I stayed in character and laughed it off each time. A few of the men and othertowns people were nice.

Colin, the man who ran the inn from day to day, was a friendly but rather simple guy. I learned from him, that Tori came in several days a week, to act as sort of a hostess. Her mother did that when they first opened the inn. She would chat with people and made them feel welcome. After a while, Tori would do it along with her mother when she was a little girl. When Tori's mother died, Tori kept up the tradition. While it may seem something unworthy of a person from the upper class, I learned that Tori's mother was considered very beautiful, charming and was very well liked by everyone she met. So out of respect for Tori's mother, no one ever dare said a word about Tori's working in essentially a bar. The most she ever does is bring a glass of beer to someone on occasion, anyway. Colin told me that Trina didn't like work of any kind and hated the bar/inn as she thought it was beneath her.

Around 4:00 O'clock in the afternoon I felt my spirits lift as I could hear Tori coming in from the back.

"Hello Colin, How are you today." She said in a cheerful tone.

"I'm fine Miss Victoria, Thank you. How are you on this fine day?" I could hear Colin reply as I returned to the bar with some empty glasses.

"I'm good thanks."

Tori then looked at me with a smile, that warmed my heart. "And how are you doing so far?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you Miss Victoria."

Colin then spoke up. "She's done a fine Job, Miss Victoria.

Tori nodded. "Very good. " She then noticed an elderly man enter the bar. "Oooh…There's Sir Ian McCulloch. He was decorated for bravery by King George the III for bravery at the battle of Waterloo. He's one of our regulars. Jade get him a pint of our best ale. I'll greet him."

And so it went, while I loved working in close proximity to Tori, I had little time to actually chat with her. She was always busy talking it up with someone in a most friendly manner. We did get to chat from time to time, but it was just useless small talk. It was a bit frustrating.

I didn't have to help make supper, but I did eat with the kitchen staff. After dinner I worked in the bar for a while longer, but much to my disappointment Tori was gone. I finally finished my day at 9:00 in the evening and had been working for nearly 15 hours. In my preparation for this trip I read how servants in this period worked just these types of long hours. At Sikowtiz's suggestion, I did a bit of jogging to help build up my stamina. I hated jogging, but now I'm very glad it did. Had I attempted a day like this out of shape, I'd feel ten times worse than I do now.

I was worn out when I returned to my cabin at the end of my first full day. But I did get a bit of a reward. In 2014 I live in a small flat above a bakery and I frequently sit in a lawn chair up on the roof looking at the stars, with a beer in hand. I find it relaxing.

In high school, I remember a teacher talking about light pollution. How lights from cities, block out the lights from stars. So in the big city, you'd only be able to see perhaps a few dozen stars. It was something I only half paid attention to.

I had arrived home, made myself some tea and decided to sit for a bit on the chair on the front porch. It was when I looked in the sky, I got a shock.

Not a few dozen stars as I was quite used to seeing at night in Herford, I saw hundreds of stars in the sky. The lights of Herford and nearby London, weren't as bright in 1869 so they hadn't been blocked out yet. I was totally blown away at the difference between the visible stars between 2014 and 1869.

After a long hard and a bit of a frustrating day, where I made little progress with Tori, I was treated to the sight of a beautiful star filled sky.

Sitting in the chair, sipping my tea, looking at the stars and the only sound was the gentle night time breeze rustling through the trees, it felt like a near perfect moment. The only thing being missing is Tori of course.

But with luck, I may be able to change that.

**As before, I'll state that the diaries jade has scanned on her kindle, have not changed from the way they were originally written. But for you the reader, you will see what Tori wrote in her journal that night.**

Tori's POV

_April 30th, 1869_

_Today was Jade's first day at our home as a servant. While she seemed nice, I still wasn't sure how she would work out. I found myself hoping very much she would as she seemed quiet exciting. From what I heard from Mrs. Bailey, she worked very hard and did well at her duties. I was quite pleased._

_Though there were a few odd things. But she is an American and they have different ways of doing things than us British. My Finance Beckett came over for lunch today. We were having a delightful time chatting and Beck had been reciting some Shakespeare for us. _

_But rather surprisingly, Jade pointed out a mistake he had made. Beck had omitted 2 lines of the section of Richard the III he was reciting. I could tell Beck was a extremely annoyed by her correcting him. Probably for two reasons, she was correcting him and she was a servant. No normal servant would have dared to do such a thing, but just the fact that she went ahead and did it, impressed me for some reason. I could tell father was annoyed as well, but his own father was a great lover of Shakespeare so I know he will soon be over it._

_I looked it up later in the day and indeed Jade was correct. She even quoted from Julius Caesar and is apparently an actress of some sort. I found myself very amazed by her knowledge. I do love attending the theatre and think acting is a most interesting profession. Though I doubt I have much talent for it myself. _

_Another strange thing, but it may be nothing. I had to come into the kitchen after breakfast to tell the cook that we were having a guest for lunch when I passed the pantry door, which was cracked open. Curious, I peered in, where I saw Jade scrubbing the floor. She hadn't noticed me and for reasons, too sinful to write, I lingered for a few moments to gaze at her. _

_But as I stood there, I could hear her softly singing to herself. I had to strain to hear it clearly. It was a strange song that I had never heard before, but at the time, enticing. _

_I could hear her sing the strange lyrics as she scrubbed._

_"I've got you under my skin  
I've got you deep in the heart of me  
So deep in my heart, that you're really a part of me  
I've got you under my skin."_

_Listening further it sounded like a song of love of some kind. Though she was singing it softly, she was singing it with such feeling. I wonder if she was singing it about someone in particular. I would have stayed longer, but I heard someone approaching from the kitchen and didn't want to be caught spying. _

_Hurrying away from the door, I ran into the cook which was the person I needed to talk to. Fortunately he didn't notice that I was a bit flush and my heart was racing. An odd song indeed, possibly some sort of folk song from America. I dare not ever mention it to Jade, as I wouldn't want her to know that I was so rudely spying on her. I must not do that and will pray for forgiveness in church on Sunday for doing such a horrid thing._

_I got to work with her during the afternoon for a time and was able to watch her work first hand. Jade does seem to be a very hard worker as she claimed to. _

_I find myself wishing she was of more my social circle. But sadly she is not. Things are what they are and I dare not question them. So much is going on these days with the planning for the wedding. My mind is dizzy with all the details that need my attention. But when I saw Jade sing, I thought of nothing else but her._

_But my happiness lies in making a good life with Beckett and being a good wife and hopefully a mother someday. I must not let distractions take me from my destined path. _

**Just another word of thanks and an acknowledgement. The story idea itself, several diary entries and other parts were contributed by 27milestogo. This story would not be possible without their help. My thanks. **

**The song that Tori overheard Jade singing was "I've got you under my skin." Witten by Cole Porter and made famous by Frank Sinatra. Though a Goth, I've always pictured Jade as having a much wider taste in music than she'd ever admit to.**


	15. Breaking Character

**Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 15 – Breaking Character.**

**Jade's POV**

I'd love to tell you that we fell immediately in love and lived happily ever after. But in the 3 weeks I've been in scenic 1869, I've pretty much gotten nowhere. All I've managed to accomplish is get a blister on my right foot and proven to myself I can play the part of dutiful servant girl continuingly and only go slightly crazy. I'm not going to go into, all the 21st century luxuries that I have to deal without. I've cleaned every square in of that house and inn no less than 5 times in my estimation. My pearpod/kindle and phone have kept me from going completely nuts. After a long day, I collapse in bed, listen to some music, watch a movie or attempt to beat the latest level of angry birds.

Note to self: Strangle Robbie when I get back, for getting me addicted to this utterly stupid game.

Actually it was Rex's taunting me that I couldn't beat that stupid game that got me so worked up that I took his challenge just to spite him. He suckered me good. I'll deal with him too.

As I said, only slightly crazy.

As far as Tori go, we I can best be described as friendly acquaintances. I see her every day and my heart jumps every time I do. I'll admit that I steal glances of her whenever I can. She's so beautiful, I can barely restrain myself sometimes. But she's a member of the upper class and I'm just a servant. Not that she treats me poorly. In fact, she's very nice and we manage to talk. But there is this line that she won't cross. I can't even get into the dreaded "friend zone"

About a week after my arrival, I read in the diary that she had gone riding one afternoon. It was my day off and I thought that if I happen by the barn, I could ask to go riding with her. I know that the diaries haven't changed, with my arrival, but I hoped that was still true. I know what you're thinking, it is a bit stalkerish and you are right of course. But I'm doing this for a good cause. On the path she is on, she will die a painful and lonely death in little over a years' time. I can't let that happen.

I have seen Beck on a few occasions, but I've played the part of servant and held my tongue.

I found her on her on her horse as she was walking out of the barn.

"Hello Jade, what brings you out here?" She asked with her normal friendly smile.

"I was walking around, I've been working so much, I haven't had much time to enjoy the local scenery. I see you're going out for a ride, can I join you?"

For a split second, there was a hopeful look on her second, but then she quickly looked to the house and a nervous indecisive look came to her face. She then made a rather sad and embarrassed smile.

"I think it's best that I ride alone. No offense."

I couldn't help but frown. "None taken. See you around."

I quickly turned to leave as I couldn't hold the look of extreme hurt off my face much longer. Yeah, I know it's just riding, but being rejected stung rather badly. I've come all this way and my heart burns for her. I know she dies lonely and in pain. Walking home, I burst into tears. Perhaps I'm expecting too much too fast, i just don't know.

I went home, had a good cry and spend the rest of my day off in bed listening to music. Very sad music I may add.

The next day I put on my game face and did my work as if nothing was wrong. Since then, I don't feel like I've made any serious inroads. The wedding is less than 2 months away and I'm starting to get a bit frustrated. I'll add that I am a bit homesick, I'd kill for a coffee from Jetbrew, cruddy food from Nozu or even a fucking shower.

Today is Sunday May 23rd 1869, it's early evening and the inn is full. On Saturday and Sunday nights a very limited meal is served while the food lasts. It's normally some kind of stew or soup with some bread that the cook makes. It's very popular and the place is always packed.

I'm working the tables, delivering drinks like I always do. Tori is her normal happy self, talking with the various towns people who have joined us tonight.

It's the normal crowd, with one exception. There is a group of 4 soldiers, being loud, drinking heavily and gambling in the corner. Unlike the normal soldiers who frequent this establishment, these men look a bit different. They appeared much tanner than the other ones and their uniforms look a bit more worn. They also have a look of hunger in their eyes and it's not for food. They just look kind of rough. I'm guessing that their regiment has probably just arrived back from India, Africa or some far off place.

I had served them drinks and got my ass slapped twice, but I just shrugged it off. I don't hate it any less, but I need to play my part.

I was behind the bar manning it as Colin had to go in the back and get more beer. Tori's father was in London some business tonight. I hadn't paid attention at first, but suddenly I looked over to see Tori talking to the 4 soldiers. She tries to greet everyone at some point.

Except, talking was what they didn't want to do.

I couldn't hear what they said, but I could see a look of slight discomfort on her face. Before she could turn to leave, a soldier with dark hair and wearing a sergeant's stripes stood up and put his arm around her.

"How's about a kiss for Sargeant Blake." He said a bit louder. as he pulled her in a bit closer and tried to kiss her on the cheek.

"Please. No thank you!" She said, her voice a bit strained.

My blood had already begun to boil at this point. I've seen some drunken assholes here before, but this guy was a major league asshat.

"Well I Take what I want!" He said belligerently. Then he not only leaned into kiss her, he grabbed her breast and laughed.

I totally lost it at that point. No one does that to Tori. To hell with the character. I quickly ran around the bar and tore off across the room.

Fortunately he didn't see me until I was on top of him. He still had one arm around her but had released the breast. I quickly grabbed his free arm and pulled it behind his back, lifting it up as high as I could. He instantly let out a drunken groan of pain as he released Tori.

I then smashed him against the wall.

"Owww…..You're hurting my arm wench." He sputtered drunkenly.

I was livid at this point. "I'll twist the fucking thing off, if you even think of trying that again you worthless guttersnipe. Didn't your mama ever teach you some manners? She's a lady and you apologize for groping her right now!" I said as I forced his arm up just a bit higher behind his back, causing him go groan even louder.

Surprisingly he quickly relented. "I'm Sorry Miss. For grabbing you most improper. Please forgive me."

That done I released him and glared at his three shocked companions. "You're supposed to be soldiers, not drunken fools. If you have any issue with my treatment of your sergeant, I'll be at the bar."

I half expected the group to start some shit, but me quickly humiliating their sergeant must have taken the wind from their sails.

"Let's get out of here." He said as he rubbed his shoulder and moved for the door. His three companions were still looking rather shocked but quickly complied and followed him out the door.

"Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out!" I taunted, earning me a strange look from the surprised people in the room.

I shrugged. "Hey, they needed to be taught some manners." Then I looked to Tori as my anger turned to worry. "Are you alright Miss Victoria?"

She quickly looked at me and much to my surprise, didn't look all that grateful. She immediately grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the room into the back.

We past a confused looking Colin who had just come out of the back. "What's going on?"

"I need to talk with Miss Jade. We will return in a moment." Tori snapped.

I wasn't expecting this reaction and I suddenly had the sickening feeling that I was in deep shit. She pulled me down the back hallway and pulled me into the broom closet.

"What was that about?" Tori said furiously, washing away the last remnants of my feeling of triumph.

My brain suddenly froze and I stammered before I could actually say anything. "I…I… wa….was just trying to help you. He was grabbing you."

Tori quickly poked me in the chest. "I know that and I could have handled it. My mother always wanted to make people feel welcome here and we have a way of handling people like that. Handling it in a proper manner, not like an ignorant oaf who nearly twists a man's arm off. That is not the way we do things here! Do you understand me?"

Maybe I'm just to emotionally involved, but her sharp criticism was actually rather devastating. Again I found myself wanting to cry, but I would not break down in front of her. Instead I froze my expression in a rather stoic one.

"I see someone that looks like they need help. Then I help." I was about to say something harsh like, maybe I'll just let him grope you next time, but I bit my tongue and said nothing else.

"I know you meant to help. But I want help. I'll ask for it. You're done for tonight. Go home!" She said, sounding even harsher, before walking out the door and unceremoniously slamming it shut.

Barely able to hold back my tears, I quickly exited the closet, left the inn and ran home. I had no idea she would be so angry. I thought I was doing the right thing. I just don't know anymore.

What the hell am I doing here anyway? Tori's dead, she's been dead more than a century and a half. She's dead and buried; she just doesn't know it yet. She fooled herself into thinking that douche would make her happy. She died and what give me the right to play god. Maybe it was just supposed to be this way. I thought, as a torrent of emotions blitzed through my head.

I was in such a hurry home, that I failed to see a rock and tripped. I landed on the ground and bashed my left knee pretty good. Now I was angry, upset and in pain.

I limped the rest of the way home, with a bleeding knee. Coming inside I screamed in utter frustration.

"WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING HERE?" Just as Tori's fooled herself into thinking she'll be happy with Beck, maybe I've done the same thing myself. I've fooled myself into thinking a long dead girl would make me happy. All I am, is just a fucking stalker anyway. I'm no better than that obsessed freak Sinjin. I'm probably going to get fired and then the games up anyway.

After lighting a candle so I could see, I cleaned my knee best I could and lay down to try and think.

I must have been rather tired as I quickly fell asleep.

I awoke some time later to the sound of knocking at the door. I don't know how long, but the candle I had left burning on my nightstand had burned down at least an inch.

I'm finished, I know it. I blew it, but may I never had a chance. The gods were watching me vainly run around time, simply for their amusement I'll bet.

I heard the knock a second time, only deepening my growing sense of dread and defeat, as I walked to the door and opened it.

**Jade is getting frustrated and jumped to the rescue, but Tori didn't appreciate it all that much. Now Jade is questioning if she should be there at all.**

**Who's at the door? That answer will come next time.**

**Guttersnipe is a Victorian era insult. She was basically calling him low class.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	16. Knock, Knock

**Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years. **

**Chapter 16 – Knock, Knock.**

**No One's Pov**

Jade's heart dropped instantly when she saw the tall form of Mr. Walker standing on her doorstep.

"May I come in?" He said quickly.

"Please do." Jade said with a nod of her head.

Mr. Walker walked in and turned around, waiting for Jade to close the door. As soon as Jade did he began to speak.

"I heard what happened tonight. Both from Victoria and one of our regulars, Shamus McMaster. He witnessed the whole thing."

Jade found herself unable to look at Tori's father in the eye's. Instead her she lowered her head so she was looking at his shoes. Jade knew she was dead.

"I take it I'm discharged." Jade said, wanting to get it over with.

"Is that what you think I'm here for?" Mr. Walker said, sounding a bit surprised.

Slightly confused, Jade looked up at Mr. Walker. "Frankly sir, yes. I treated that sergeant rather roughly, not to mention I pretty much humiliated him by doing it in front of his men. My father taught me how to fight. He wanted his girl to be able to handle herself."

He smiled slightly and shook his head. "No Jade, you are not discharged. In fact I wanted to thank you."

"Wha?"

"I know Tori wanted to handle things her way, but these soldiers from the sound of it just arrived back from somewhere. I've seen men like that, especially after a long posting overseas. Men like that are capable of nearly anything. You performed above and beyond your duty as a servant."

"Thank you." Jade said quietly. Though the last part of what he said, stuck in her mind. As if he were somehow reminding Jade of her place.

"In gratitude, I will increase your salary by 2 pence a week. You've done very well so far."

Jade bowed slightly. "Thank you ever so much sir. How is Victoria?"

"She's a bit upset, but will recover. Thank you for your concern. " He said in his usual polite, but military like manner.

"You're welcome sir."

Mr. Walker moved to the door. "Well I have to attend to some business before I turn in. I will leave you alone for this evening. Good night Jade."

"Thank you sir. Have a good night." Jade responded as she walked to the door and closed it behind him.

A few moments later, Jade was alone. While she had kept her job, Tori probably was still mad at her. Plus there was no telling when and if Tori would ever talk to her again. Jade felt about as defeated as before. Sighing, she sat down and tried to figure how to get back into Tori's good graces.

Jade was still sitting there a half an hour later when there was another knock at the door. "What the hell?"

Puzzled as to how now was at the door, Jade pulled it open to see Tori standing on her doorstep. Unlike before, she did not look angry; in fact she looked somewhat humbled.

"Can I please come in Jade? I'd like to speak with you if I could."

Not quite sure what this was about, Jade gestured for Tori to come in. As before, she waited until her guest was inside and shut the door.

As Jade turned to Tori, she quickly noticed the half Latina fumbling with her hands in a rather nervous manner. "Thank you for seeing me."

"So what can I do for you, Miss Victoria?" Jade addressing her as she would normally while she was working. Still a bit upset at being yelled at, Jade decided to keep it a bit formal.

"I've come to apologize. I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. My behavior was dreadful. You were trying to protect me and I reacted badly." Tori said quietly as she lowered her head towards the floor, much like a child that had just been scolded.

First Tori's father thanking her and now Tori apologizing, Jade wasn't sure what to expect next. She was still in the game, but in the back of her mind, she wondered if it were the gods, just playing more tricks. Letting her get just a bit closer, before yanking it all way again.

Though she wasn't sure if it was a good idea, Jade decided to be direct. "No offense, but did your father make you do this? He was here a short while ago. He thanked me."

Tori looked up at Jade for a moment, with almost pleading eyes. "NO. I did this on my own. Tori sat down and ran her hand through her hair as a single tear came to her eye. "My mother had a way of handling even the most belligerent drunks. She could charm anyone. I just wanted to be like her. When you did what you did, you were protecting me, but I was angry because I couldn't try and charm him like my mother would have. My father said I meant well, but it could have easily gotten out of hand. The soldiers we normally get are usually well behaved as my father is a friend of the local barracks commander, General Owen. If any of them acted poorly, they know General Owen would hear. But these men were obviously just back from overseas. You were right in defending me. I am sorry. Please accept my apology."

Looking at Tori, Jade was moved when she sensed from Tori's behavior that she really wanted Jade's forgiveness.

"It's ok. Apology accepted. You miss her don't you?" Jade said, knowing perfectly well that Tori did.

A very sad look formed on Tori's face. "Yes."

"Look. It's over and those guys are gone. If they stir up any trouble, I'm sure your dad will let this General Owen know. As I said, apology accepted."

For a moment, there seemed to be an awkward silence, which was broken by Tori standing and looking directly at Jade.

"Would you like to go riding with me tomorrow?" Tori said abruptly.

As surprised as she was about the apology, Jade was blown away by Tori's out of nowhere invite to go riding. In fact it took her a full 2 seconds to process what she heard.

"Riding?" Was the only word that Jade could say.

Tori stepped forward with a nervous smile. "Riding, yes. You had expressed interest in riding with me a few weeks ago. I do know tomorrow is your day off. I was going to go riding in the afternoon. Would you like to come?"

Jade suddenly became aware her heart was beating furiously. "Yes!" She said, with a bit more enthusiasm than she wanted to show.

Tori's smile became just a bit wider as she moved towards the door. "Good. How about we meet at the stables around 2:00. I'll have a horse ready for you."

Jade by then was able restrain herself a bit better. "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Jade." Tori said before walked out the door.

For a few moments after Tori left, Jade starred at the door, dumfounded. Once again hope had been restored, but Jade could only wonder what would happen next. Only time would tell.

**Author's note: We will now see what Tori wrote in her journal that evening.**

May 23rd, 1869

Jade! Jade that mysterious American who has been in my father's employ for over 3 weeks now. I hardly know where to start. Today some rough looking soldiers were at the inn and one of them, grabbed me, tried to kiss me and touched my breast. I felt so dirty and disgusted by his touch. While no one else in the room did nothing, Jade rushed in and in a most amazing fashion, got him away from me and rendered him helpless. She even made him apologize to me. I've never seen a woman do that before. I was in awe of her. But then again, I think I was already.

She's more different than anyone I've ever met. Except for that first day at lunch, she's been a respectful and hard worker, but she's just different. With each passing day, I become just a bit more fascinated with her. I need to confess, that I've found myself looking at her secretly a number of times. She is so beautiful. In fact, she seems to grow more beautiful by the day. I know it's a sin, but if find myself wondering what her naked form looks like. Such unholy thoughts will be the undoing of my soul, but I need to know her.

She is of course a servant and I am of a higher station. In fact when she rescued me, how did I react. I yelled at her. I wanted to handle things like my mother did. But when I explained what happened to father, he said Jade's methods were certainly unorthodox, but effective in dealing with the problem. He told me Americans have a very independent spirit and don't back down from a fight easily. I guess that's a trait I don't quite understand.

Almost as soon as she left, I began to feel guilty. I had sent her way. I don't want to send her away. I want her to. I dare not even hope for that. I want to know her, I want to be her friend. I think, I know she is worth knowing. After speaking to my father about the matter, he informed me that he was appreciative of Jade's efforts to protect me. I was afraid that he would discharge Jade for a few moments. After he came back from speaking I walked over there to apologize. I was so horribly nervous and felt more terrible by the moment about my beastly behavior. Thank the Lord, she was very gracious and accepted my humble apology. I know I will have to answer to my father later, but I I invited her to ride. I was so nervous, Even more so when I apologized. I'm surprised Jade didn't notice me shaking. I was afraid she would reject my request. But happily she did not. I want to know her.

I hope we have a good time and I can take my mind off all the wedding details that plague me. But more than just mundane wedding details.

Every time I think of Jade, I feel an odd swirling of emotions, inside of me. It's like a storm that is only getting stronger. I'd have to be a fool to think she could or would even want to be with me. I don't want to think these things but I find it harder and hard to push them out of my mind.

I do realize that father my not approve of me associating with Jade. I have always done what my father and mother, have wished. Just once, I want to stand on my own.

But all these things will soon not matter, once I am happily married.

**A bit of a shorter chapter today, but you found out what happened. Next chapter will be their afternoon riding together. **


	17. The Ride

**Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 17 – The Ride**

**Jade's POV**

I found myself unable to sleep very well that night. I was too busy thinking about my ride tomorrow with Tori. I was excited, to say the least. Fortunately I had nowhere to be in the morning so I could sleep in.

After getting up, I washed up, made myself some breakfast with some eggs I bought from a local farmer and read some on my kindle. At the time approached to meet Tori, I suddenly got a bit nervous. All I had for lunch was a meat and cheese sandwich.

Though it's a pain to have to buy everything fresh, either from the local farmer or the sometimes farmers market, some of the food is quite good. Not to mention no preservatives. But one must be careful to buy only what you can use that day. Most of that stuff won't keep long.

Not having any proper riding clothes as Tori did, I dressed in my traveling clothes; cavalry boots, pants and a white shirt. The day itself was overcast, windy and a bit cold, so I did wear my coat. The last thing I did was, to comb my hair so it looked perfect.

At 2 pm sharp I came to the barn where I found Tori waiting, just inside.

"Hello Jade. I have your horse ready for you. You can ride Percy. I will ride my own horse, Emma."

"Thanks." As I walked in, I got a strange look from Robert. I was one of the servants like he, only I was going riding with Tori. What I was doing was most unorthodox, to say the least.

Ignoring Robert, I went to my horse and checked the saddle. Once I was satisfied that everything was secure and as it should be I mounted my horse. I found myself being very glad that I took the riding lessons before I came here. I used to hate horses, thinking they were stupid. Now, I don't mind them so much.

"So, where are we going?"

Tori smiled enigmatically, then quickly motioned for the horse to take off on a full gallop out of the barn and towards the park.

"Why you little…" I muttered as she set off in pursuit of Tori. For almost 5 minutes, I chased after Tori. The Latina would occasionally look back and giggle, all the while her long brown hair was flowing with the wind. It was a very beautiful sight.

By the time I had caught up with Tori, we were at the far end of the park, nearing the edge of the fields and meadows beyond. Tori then laughed and eased up a bit to let me ride along side. But my competitiveness got the best of me and I quickly zoomed ahead of the surprised Tori.

"Hey! I was slowing down for you." Protested Tori.

I merely waved goodbye as I raced out onto a meadow, towards a group of trees at the far end. Soon Tori and her horse galloped past me. Obviously she had no intention of being beaten.

Quickly Tori raced ahead and reached the stand of trees a good 10 seconds before Jade did, where she stopped.

"Jade, I figured that you would have beaten me easy. Your horse is as fast if not faster than mine. "Tori said, looking briefly puzzled.

I thought quickly how to respond and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not used to this horse. Not sure what it can do." In reality, Tori was a much more experienced rider having years of experience, Jade on the other hand had only few months of lessons. In the back of my mind that did exist as a worry, that I would be seen as a fraud. But that worry, sat along with all the other anxieties about how well the day would go.

Tori nodded, seeming to accept the excuse and gently nudged her horse towards a nearby road. "Come on"

I followed and for a short while, we rode a somewhat awkward silence.

"I can't believe it sometimes, you left your home and went on a big adventure. My father or my mother would never permit that. "Tori said in an excited voice.

"I got lucky I guess."

"So how did you get to England?"

"By 747" I said without thinking, realizing how stupid I was a second later.

Tori's face scrunched for a moment. "What's a 747?"

"Ah…..It was a new kind of transatlantic clipper ship. They hadn't given it a proper name yet. Some kind of odd sailor's superstition." It was a lie of course, like about 90% of what I've told her since I've arrived. With anyone else, I wouldn't care. With Tori, it bothers me. With each lie it bothers me more.

"Oh…I see. I've heard sailors are a superstitious lot. So tell me, what do you do in Los Angeles?"

This time I'd tell the truth if it killed me. "I read a lot. I go to the beach sometimes."

"Ooohh…My father too me and sister to the beach once, down in Brighton. We stayed at the Grand hotel. It was such a wonderful time. What do people in Los Angeles do at the beach?"

"Like in your case, families go there a lot on nice days. They will lay out a blanket and sometimes bring a picnic lunch. Children will play games and swim a bit. People will lay out in the sun to tan themselves, also."

"Tan themselves?" Tori said with a blank expression.

"It's kind of a new thing Victoria. People lay in the sun to tan or darken their skin. I know here having light skin is very popular. But there, people like to look tan."

Tori looked to me with amazement. "Most interesting. What do you do at the beach? I notice you do not look….Tan."

"I've always been a night person. I like going down before sunset. Find a secluded spot on the beach and sit down. Then I'll watch the sun set. It's very beautiful. The sky will turn orange. Then I lay down in the sand and look up at the sky. Then one by one the stars will appear and I just watch them. I love the night, I've always loved the night and being out in it. You look at the stars and just let your mind wander amongst them. Imagine what wonders they may hold, what mysteries there are out there." I found my voice had a dreamlike quality as I spoke. I was being truthful and was quiet happy to do so.

Looking over I could see Tori riding besides me with her mouth slightly parted and she looked a bit spellbound. "That sounds beautiful. I've never thought about the stars or anything like that."

"I can't say I'm too knowledge about that, but I do know the sky holds many beautiful things. Through a telescope, I could see the rings of the planet Saturn, the moons of Jupiter, I was even shown the great nebula of Orion. A cloud of some sort, far from this world. But mostly I just look up and relax. Clear my mind of the day's problems."

Tori nodded. "I should do that. I have many things on my mind, these days."

"The Wedding?" I said, trying not to let my utter contempt for Beck to leak through.

"Yes. So much to plan, so much to do. "

We rode on, through the countryside and I let Tori talk about the wedding and the stresses of being in it. I listened carefully but said little. But it was stressing her alot. I hated the wedding and the thought of it taking place made me sick beyond imagination. So I just put on my best fake smile and listened. Though I think she just liked having someone to talk to about it.

For a while after that, she asked me more questions about home and I mostly had to use my cover story. Again I found myself feeling bad for having to lie. There were periods where we would say nothing, but after a while the silence didn't feel awkward anymore. I loved being with her, in her presence and from what I could see, she seemed to enjoy my company. I got to steal tons of glances of her that afternoon. From time to time, Tori would point out some interesting feature of the country side. I saw the Oliver mansion, albeit from far away. It looked so big and grand, but someday all that will be there is a rather drab looking supermarket.

About an hour and a half into our ride, we spotted 3 riders coming towards us on one of the country lanes. As we got closer, I could see the riders were three women in expensive looking riding outfits. Looking over at Tori, she suddenly frowned.

Before I could ask, one of the women called out. "Hello Victoria!"

Tori put on a sudden and rather obviously looking fake smile and waved. "Hello Hester."

"Who's that?" I said looking at the girl Tori called Hester. She was rather pretty, with blond hair and very light skin. She was wearing a red riding outfit, which looked quite expensive. Her two companions were dressed in Green and Blue Riding outfits and had dark hair.

Tori rolled her eyes and quietly spoke. "Her name is Hester Callcott, her family is so rich, they make ours look like paupers. Her father is the current Duke of Wessex. I've been told she's in line for the throne. I'm told it's something like 532nd or something. Though I am of the same class, she still looks down on me. We used to get along alright, but over the years she's soured on me. In the last year or so, she's been quite more so. Her companions are Ruth Gore and Lily Fletcher. Friends of hers." Tori then stopped talking as they had come within earshot.

"Well hello Victoria." Hester said in a sickly sweet tone of voice. "Ruth, Lily and I were just discussing your impending marriage to Beckett Oliver and how lucky you were to marry such a specimen of manhood." Just by looking at the way Hester looked at Tori, it was obvious that Hester only pretended to like her.

Tori nodded her head. "Thank you. I do hope all three of you can attend my wedding."

All three nodded and said yes. Only then did Hester look at me, with rather disapproving eyes. Remember everyone had nice Victorian era riding outfits. Everyone but me ,who was dressed in men's clothes. "So who is your companion?"

"Hester, Lily, Ruth. This is Jade West who is visiting England. She has come all the way from Los Angles, California. Jade, this is Hester Callcott, Ruth Gore and Lily Fletcher."

In a rather polite fashion I nodded. "Hello. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Ruth and Lily nodded their heads in a polite but rather cold fashion; Hester on the other hand smirked. "Wait. Is this the new American servant you father hired and you've gone riding with her or is it a her at all."

Not wanting to embarrass Tori, I kept my face expressionless, said nothing and waited for Tori to respond.

In a most gracious tone, Tori spoke. "Yes, my father has hired her on for a time until we can find a permanent replacement for Molly. But since Jade is a guest in our fine country, I saw no harm and showing her some of our beautiful countryside. She has been telling me tales of America."

Hester scoffed. "Americans are such a beastly group. So rude and unrefined. Look at her she's dressed like a man."

Again I said nothing, though I rather pleasantly pictured a pair of scissors sticking out of her chest.

Tori glanced at me apologetically, then back to Hester. "While an accomplished rider, Jade does not have any riding clothes with her, she had had to make due. She's quite an interesting companion, knows about astronomy, can quote Shakespeare and is quite a conversationalist."

"You don't have to make excuses, if you wanted to ride, you could have joined us. I hate riding alone too. We will not make mention of this incident. I'm sure she's….acceptable."

Ruth suddenly retorted. "She can quote Shakespeare and read, does she fetch too?"

Lily laughed immediately, Hester did not, but I could tell from the look in her eyes that she wanted to.

Nearing the end of my rather short amount of patience, I gave Ruth a brief but withering stare. She instantly seemed to recoil in fear, as I did it. I so wanted to kick her ass into the next county, but I quickly recomposed myself and tried to look nonchalant. I suspected that Ruth was trying to bait me into doing something violent.

"Well enjoy your ride Hester, Lily, Ruth. Have a pleasant day. Come on Jade, let's keep going." Tori said quickly as she urged her horse past the girls.

I followed and for a short while nothing was said. I was silently fuming, but at the same time proud of my restraint.

Once the other girls were far down the lane, Tori lowered her head in shame. "I am so sorry Jade. Both Ruth and Hester were very insulting. I apologize on their behalf."

Shaking my head. "Don't apologize for them. I do appreciate it, but don't waste your time Tori."

Ooops, I said Tori instead of Victoria. Shit.

"Tori?" She said with an oddly amused look.

"I'm sorry Victoria. It was sort of a nickname I gave you. I meant it as no insult. Please forgive me."

Tori suddenly smiled. "I believe you. I rather like that name. If you wish to call me Tori, than by all means do so. But I am sorry for them ruining your day. "

"No, they didn't I got to spend some time riding with you. I've enjoyed myself immensely. Thank you very much for inviting me along." I couldn't help but say it. "I enjoy your company."

Tori widened her smile. "I enjoy yours as well."

We rode for another hour throughout the country side, talking about various topics of the day. It wasn't deep conversation, but enjoyable. Since I had gotten here, this was the very best day. I was happy and I certainly sensed that Tori liked me as a friend. But would it last or was this a onetime thing?

"I hope you won't get in trouble with your father for taking me out. He will hear of it." I sad as we approached the barn.

Tori patted me on the shoulder. "Do not worry. We are friends and that is that. I will handle my father.

The grin that I desperately tried to suppress escaped and appeared on my face. I was very happy.

**No One's POV**

It was nearing dinnertime when they got back, so Tori had to hurry back to the home to wash and change for dinner and not be late. Though she wanted to say more, Tori said she had a wonderful time and then goodnight before departing.

Arriving at home, she found her father in his study. She knew her father would have heard of it and decided to be up front about it.

"Father?" Tori said knocking on the halfway open door of the study.

"Come in."

Upon entering, Tori's father looked up with a concerned look. "I've been told you went riding with Jade today. Must I remind you she is one of the servants."

Tori took a step forward, gathered all her courage and lifted her chin. "Father, I took her riding to thank her for what she had done for me last night. But I've found her a most interesting person and a person whose company I find enjoyable. It was her day off. I've always done what you have asked and I will abide by your wishes, but I must request that I can associate with Jade when she is not working. She is only here temporally and I would very much like to get to know her in that time. I have much on my mind with the wedding and it has been stressing me. I so want this to go perfectly. I found the afternoon we spend riding very relaxing."

For a moment, Mr. Walker silently gazed at her steadfast expression. "She seems to have brought out a certain independent side of you. It reminds me of your mother when we first met. I will permit it, providing it does not interfere in her duties or distract you from your wedding plans."

Tori smiled. "No it won't father. Thank you ever so much father. I need to change and wash up for dinner so I will take my leave."

"Alright, see you at dinner."

Tori hurried up to her room, shut the door and leaned on the other side and squealed for joy. She loved spending time with the mysterious and beautiful Jade. Each moment spent with her, made her want to spend even more. While the wedding, Beckett and the associated worries, were firmly on her mind, she found Jade was a beautiful escape from all that.

The next morning she found Jade in the dining room, scrubbing the floor after breakfast.

"Jade?" Tori said lowering her voice as to not be overheard.

Jade looked up with a smile. "Yes, Miss Victoria."

Tori shook her head. "I said you can call me Tori."

"It's a good idea to keep it formal during times when I'm working. No offence."

"Yes, quiet right."

As she was about to say it, Tori found herself even more jittery than she was the other night. But she pushed on through. "Next Monday, your day off, would you like to spend it with me?" Tori had intended to only say the afternoon, but that small but growing part of her which secretly desired Jade, overruled her.

Jade had to use every single acting skill she had not to completely gush with happiness and delight. Having Tori to herself all day was beyond anything she could hope for. Even if nothing actually happened, all that would matter was she was with Tori.

"It would be my pleasure." Jade said, smiling broadly.

**Special thanks to Invader Johnny and Lushcoltane.**


	18. Another outing

**Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, Its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years**

**Chapter 18 – Another outing.**

**Jade's POV.**

I was very pleased with our day out, even more pleased when Tori asked me to spend the following Monday with her. Sadly I had to make it through another week of playing servant. It's not fun, believe me. At work at 6 am and working pretty much until late. Not to mention the work can be grueling; scrub this, clean that, empty that, chop that, serve this and so on and so on and so on. Its mind numbing, to put it simply.

During my working hours, I've been taking care to work extra hard and be as professional as can be. Tori is taking a risk, by befriending me. I must not make her look bad, by appearing to take advantage of her by goofing off. I find it hard to be by her so often and not be able to do or say anything.

It sounds strange, but in some respect I've turned off my 2014 personality and let my character take over. She's tough frontier girl and can handle hard work with no complaint, it's one of the ways I cope with the long hours and hard work. 2014 Jade would endlessly bitch and make everyone around her miserable from having to work 14 hours a day. I've got her boxed up pretty good, but she escapes from time to time. Like that withering glare I gave one of the gank trio when Tori and I were out. I or she, it is confusing, would have liked to kick the shit out of all of them. But that would embarrass Tori to no end and I simply won't do that.

I'm here with Tori, but it's largely a lie. I lay in bed at night, thinking how I could ever explain this.

But to distract me, I watch movies, read and play games. Since I'm an official time traveler, I decided to actually watch some science fiction. I had saved a few interesting looking ones on my kindle fire for me to watch. I started with the original Terminator. I liked that movie, it was dark, gritty and intense. I watched about 20 minutes of the second one, before I realized I couldn't stand the kid playing John Connor. He was annoying as fuck and I quickly found myself rooting for the evil Terminator.

The night before my next day off, Tori said she would come by around 9 in the morning, after breakfast. We hadn't discussed any plans, but I have been looking forward to it. Ok, I've been dying for Monday to come, I admitted it, happy now!"

As per normal on my day off, I slept in a bit, got up, washed using the ice cold stream water, made myself a meager breakfast and dressed. Of course, I made myself some coffee. I'm starting to get good at using the coffee grinder and the crude coffee pot.

I was ready at 9 AM, wearing my best dress when I heard a knock. I opened the door to find a smiling Tori standing there wearing a smile. For the most part, I've always found smiles to be annoying. A smile is supposed to make you happy, what if I don't want to be happy. Don't be smiling your smile and forcing your happiness on me. I like Tori's smile, she's allowed to smile.

"Good Morning Jade. How are you this fine morning?"

I couldn't help myself and let a bit of my modern snarkyness leaked out. So I casually leaned up against the door frame, smirked and retorted playfully. "Well, I don't have to clean your chamber pot today, so all in all. It's a good day so far."

Tori's eyes opened wide and her mouth half fell open but no sound came out. I don't think she didn't quite know what to say. After a moment Tori sputtered, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Ah…Ah…That's nice….I guess."

I nodded. "Yes it is. So what do we have planned for today?"

Recovering from her embarrassment, Tori smiled. "Well I have to go into London this morning. I ordered a ball gown from Paris and they said it would be in today. I am going to go pick it up from the dressmaker."

My smirk widened just a bit more. "And you need someone to drive."

Tori suddenly frowned and looked just a bit hurt I guessed she didn't quite get my humor. "I didn't just need you do drive. I wanted to spend the day with you. A chance to get away from all the…"

Feeling bad, I put my hand on her shoulder. "I was Jesting. Having a bit of fun at your expense. I've been looking forward to today. I'm ready to go if you'd like."

Tori quickly smiled again and nodded quickly. "Yes. I have a surprise for later. I hope you like surprises."

"Normally I hate surprises. Actually I hate lots of things, but in your case I'll make a exception." I said, as I left the cabin and closed the door.

She had the wagon and horses ready by the barn and soon we were off. Though I was kidding about driving, I did take the reins.

As our wagon got out of town Tori, who had been mostly silent, asked. "So Jade, I know you read a lot. What kind of stories do you like to read?"

"I like reading scary stories, ghost stories. Edgar Allen Poe is one of my favorites."

Tori shuddered a bit. "I do not like ghost stories. I've heard of Mr. Poe, the American writer. But I've never read any of his stories. Can you tell me about one."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I think if you tell me about it, it won't be scary."

"Well, my favorite is Masque of the red death. It's a short story. In olden times there is a kingdom where a terrible sickness has fallen upon the land. Many are dying. There is this prince who cares nothing about the sufferings of his people. So he takes all the nobles and rich and they seal themselves in a abbey with enough food to last a while. They plan to let the plague run its course, leaving the commoners to die, then emerge after. One night they throw a grand costume ball. All is well, until the prince spots a guest wearing the costume of someone with the plague. Angered, he chases the guest through the abbey, until he reaches him and pulls off the mask. Much to his horror, he sees nothing underneath. It is essentially death itself. Soon the prince and his selfish guests all fall dead due to the plague."

Tori seemed to shiver, but at the same time enjoyed my little telling of the story. "That sounds scary. If I read such a story, it would most certainly give me nightmares. Do tell me about another story."

"Wait. I thought you said they would give you nightmares."

"I like hearing them from you."

A lot of stories I couldn't mention as they had not been written yet, but there were a number of ghost/scary stories, I could mention. I read a bunch of gothic ghost stories in the last few months, in my preparations.

I told her I liked stories of vampires and briefly described two novels I had read, The Vampyre by John W Polidory in 1819 and Varney the vampire, written by James Rymer in 1847. Again she seemed fascinated and scared at the same time. I got the impression that she would not read such stories alone.

Gradually the conversation drifted to other subjects and we finally arrived in London. As I drove the wagon through downtown I spotted several women standing on a street corner, holding crudely drawn signs asking to be given the right to vote.

As our wagon went down the street towards them, I could see several other walking past give them rather dirty looks and a few verbally taunted them.

"Look at them." Tori said in a somewhat haughty and disapproving tone. "What is the world coming to?"

1869 Jade would have said little or nothing, but in this case 2014 Jade broke free and decided to speak up. I love Tori, but I can't just sit by and say nothing.

"Yes, I see them. A group of women standing on a street corner, asking merely to have a say in their countries affairs. A Vote, a voice, wanting to be heard. They are protesting peacefully and what is happening to them. They get insulted, glared at, treated with disdain. "

Tori looked at me curiously. "Surely you don't agree with that rabble. "

"Yes I do." I said as I gave an approving nod to the women as we passed them. They seemed appreciative of the gesture.

"Women can't vote. It's just not done. They belong in…"

Quickly cutting her off, I ranted. "In the kitchen? No. We can do anything any man can do. I can make informed decisions about who I want to see in political office, I can run a business, I can do anything I want and so can you. Men want us in the kitchen, so they can run things. Men are fools. They think with their penis's more than anything else."

"I see you feel strongly about that." Tori said in a somewhat demure and shy tone.

Realizing I had pushed a little too hard, too fast, I changed the subject. "According to the directions you gave me, we're nearly at the dress store."

"Good."

Silence reigned during the last part of the ride to the dress store. I need to keep modern Jade under wraps a bit more. We arrived at the upscale dress shop and both entered. Tori immediately went to one of the clerks to inquire about her dress. I, feeling stupid and a bit angry at myself, quietly looked at the latest 1869 fashions.

Soon Tori was in back trying on her dress and I was alone in front of the store. I kept wondering if I blew it.

"Can I help you find something?" Said a young female sales clerk. "We have the latest styles from Paris."

"No thank you. I'm just waiting for my friend."

Sadly she persisted; each time I happened to glance at a dress, she would immediately extol its virtues.

I remained patient for a while, but I quickly grew tired of the woman, as she seemed hell bent on putting me into a dress. My mind was on Tori and my worries about having said too much.

She held a green dress, that looked like something out of Gone with the Wind, up to me. "What about this one. It would look so beautiful, I'm sure you would have a no problem at all finding a husband with this."

For the second time this morning, modern Jade broke from her cage and I immediately snapped at the woman. "NO. I don't want a dress right now. Besides, I have better things to do than find a husband. Like live my own life and make my own decisions. Husband…heh….what a revolting thought. Go away, I don't like you."

The woman stepped back and looked at me as if I had suddenly grew horns and a tail. I'll admit I found the rather shocked look on her face rather pleasing. Wordlessly, she went around behind me, presumably to the back of the store.

Again I found myself feeling stupid for breaking character. "Jade, shut the fuck up." I muttered, while rubbing my face.

"Jade?" I suddenly could hear Tori say behind me.

Startled, I turned around to see Tori in a beautiful pinkish ball gown. "I have my new dress on. I wondered if you wanted to see it."

For a moment I was taken away by her beauty. She was wearing a floor length, dark pink ball gown with the hoop type skirt. It was covered in lace and frills and Tori looked stunning in it.

"You look beautiful. It certainly suits you."

Tori seemed to blush slightly. "Thank you. I'll have them box it up."

As Tori left, I suddenly realized that she may have overheard my little rant to the sales clerk. Just what I needed.

She emerged a short while later changed back into her normal clothes, with a large box for her dress.

"Please put it on my father's account." Tori said to a different clerk.

"Yes of course madam."

We were soon off back to Herford and I very much stuck to my character. If Tori did overhear me, she made no indication she did.

Upon arriving back I found out what the surprise was. Tori had Thomas make us a picnic lunch, which we took to the park. It was just after noon when we did arrive back, so it was just in time. We went to the park and had a wonderful picnic lunch. I stayed in character and we chatted for hours, talking about all the things that a person in 1869 would talk about. Though few of them would be what I wanted to talk about. Tori seemed to avoid talking about her wedding. I knew it weighed heavily on her mind and today was an escape.

Regardless, I loved being with Tori and she seemed to love being with me.

We arrived back at the Walker home around 4 in the afternoon and I walked Tori to her doorstep.

"Well thank you for the wonderful lunch and just spending the day with me." I said.

Tori smiled that smile that always makes my heart skip a beat. "No it was my pleasure. You're a wonderful, intelligent and funny companion. I shall see you tomorrow Jade thank you. Have a good night."

For a moment there looked like she wanted to say something else, but that quickly passed and she went inside.

I had a wonderful day, other than a few outbursts from 2014 Jade. But I was left with the same predicament, how do I get to Tori and how do I change things I have so few opportunities.

A few hours later, I was cooking a stew for my dinner when heard a knock at my door. Opening it I saw Tori's father and another well-dressed white haired gentleman.

"Jade, I know it's your day off, but can we speak with you?"

I nodded and moved to admit them in.

As they entered Mr. Walker pointed to the other man. "Jade. This is Sir Miles Evanston, a friend of mine. Sir Miles, this is Jade West, the American I was talking to you about."

I curtsied in the appropriate fashion. "Hello Sir Miles. What can I do for you this evening?"

"Your employer has told me you are an talented actress and have some knowledge of Shakespeare."

"Yes Sir. I am an actress and have performed Shakespeare. "

"May I see a sample please."

I nodded and performed few lines from "Much ado about nothing." With me doing Beatrice. It was one of the plays I had studied in the previous year.

Sir Miles quickly clapped. "You'll do fine. I'm having a formal ball this Saturday June the 5th. I've always been a big fan of the theatre and thought it might be a bit fun to have some actors perform one or two scenes from of few of my favorite plays. The woman I had hired to play the woman's parts, has gotten sick. I had mentioned it to your employer and he immediately suggested you. If your game, I'd like to hire you. I can pay 5 shillings for you work and after, you can feel free to enjoy my hospitality. It will be a wonderful party, are you interested."

I would love to get a chance to do some acting. I looked to Tori's father. "I'd like to, with your permission of course. "

Mr. Walker nodded. "Of course and I'll even give you some time to practice with the actor you'll be working with."

Curious I looked to Sir Miles. "May I ask who I will be working with."

Sir Miles beamed with pride. "I've procured the service of Charles Green, a well-known Shakespearian actor."

I knew that name instantly and nearly fainted when I heard it. Charles Green, who was already well known by now, would be by the 1880's, probably one of the most famous Shakespearian actors in all of Europe. He would eventually perform for Queen Victoria herself along with numerous other heads of state.

I would get to work and see with one of the best of the best, in acting circles he's considered a legend. I couldn't help but grin. "Well you've gotten yourself an actress."

"Excellent. I'll send a carriage for you tomorrow evening at 7 PM. It will take you to my mansion, where you and Mr. Green can rehearse. "

Tori's father then chimed in. "Jade. You'll need some appropriate attire. We'll arrange for something. Tori's quite excited for the party herself. I'm sure she'll enjoy having you come."

Now things were really looking up. Looks like Cinderella is going to the ball. "I'm looking forward to it."

**We'll leave Jade for now and go to Tori's latest journal entry this evening.**

Monday May 31st 1869.

I spent a good portion of the day with Jade. I find her to be more fascinating with each passing day. She is bold and a bit opinionated, but every time I see her I feel something inside me move. Spending time with her, I see there are two sides to her. One she shows most of the time and another which she keeps more hidden. I sense it. I know there is much more to her than I can see. She holds a secret, I know she does. I scarcely dare even put it to paper, for fear that I'm wrong.

Like a subtle thief, she's been stealing glances of me. It took me a while to notice but she does. Perhaps I was too busy trying not to be seen stealing glances of her. Could she be one that desires a softer touch? I know I should not be thinking of such things so close to my wedding, perhaps at all. I heard her today saying she found the thought of a husband a revolting thought. I don't think she knows I heard. That convinced me once and for all. The forbidden part of me was thrilled at the thought, before I came to my senses.

I find her consuming more and more of my thoughts. I just don't know what to do. I have found that she has been invited to perform at Sir Miles Ball this Saturday and she will be coming along with me. My heart jumped when I first heard it, then I worried what it would mean. Beckett, my husband to, be told me that he had business in London and would not be able to attend. I think I find the prospect of going with Jade more exciting than Beckett. I must pray for forgiveness, for feeling that way.

I know I will be happy with him, but why can't I pull my thoughts way from Jade.

**The stories Jade mention are all real. The Actor, Charles Green is a made up. **


	19. A little peek

**Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the Years.**

**Chapter 19 – A little peek.**

**Tori's POV**

I like riding most early in the morning. You can see the dew on the morning grass, the sun is just coming up and it seems like the whole world is slowly coming to life. I also like it, as I see few people around and sometimes I like the solitude. It helps me think and clear my head. With the wedding and its corresponding plans, I need time to think.

It is Wednesday morning June 2nd, 1869 and it's before 6 in the morning. I'm heading home from another one of my morning rides. It had rained the night before and the morning and the air had an even fresher smell than normal. I've been thinking about Jade this morning and my excitement that she is attending the party on Saturday evening. Normally I would have spent time at the party with Beckett, but he's already indicated that he has business to catch up on and cannot attend.

I look forward to not only seeing Jade perform but to spend more time with her and get to know her more. The more I know about her, the more mysterious she seems to become. The more mysterious she seems to become, the more I want to know about her.

As I rode my horse slowly through the woods back to home I soon came across Jade's cabin. I could have taken several ways home, but I find myself going past Jade's most often.

I rode past and wonder what's she was doing. Is she still asleep or getting ready for her day. Such a silly thing to wonder about. Today, my curiosity got the best of me. I quieted my horse as I approached the cabin then put the horse where it couldn't be seen from any of the windows.

Feeling nervous and giddy, I dismounted and slowly approached her bedroom window. I know what I was doing was wrong, but I just had to know something. The Cabin itself had heavy woolen curtains and I may be able to see nothing if they are drawn. Creeping, I slowly made it to her bedroom window.

The closer I got to the window, the more I could feel my heart beating in my chest. Fortunately, the curtains where just ever so slightly apart. Peering in, it took me a second for me to be able to see.

There she was, still dressed in her night-shirt. Beautiful was the word that immediately sprung into my mind. Feeling guilty and thrilled at the same time I spied Jade pulling a dress out of the dresser and hold it up.

I knew she could spot me at any time, but still I kept watching. Maybe that was part of why I was doing this; the risk of being discovered. I can't remember feeling more alive than I did at that moment.

A second later, she turned towards the door and slipped out of her night-shirt, revealing her pale graceful naked form to me. My heart jumped nearly out of my chest and my eyes as well.

After disrobing, she stretched for a moment and let her hair fall down across her back. She reminded me of an ancient Greek statue of Aphrodite I saw at the museum once. I couldn't take my eyes of her.

Then I saw it. She had a tattoo. As if I wasn't already dumbstruck, that did so rather nicely. I've never heard of a woman having a tattoo before. The only ones I've seen were the crude ones that the sailors by the docks have. Then they were usually a naked girl or something nautical.

But hers was nothing like those at all. Like her own body it was a work of art. On the back of her right shoulder appeared to be a bunch of red roses. The flowers were drawn intricately with the most stunning detail. The vivid red of the petals and the greens of the leaves looked so real.

Then I saw a second one. It was on her left shoulder and appeared to be a ruby red heart that was broken in half. Like the other one, it was more like a painting than a simple tattoo.

Where does one get a tattoo like this, was just one of the hundreds of questions that surged through my mind. Again I find out more and she only becomes more mysterious. Her body was like a sensual, graceful, irresistible canvas for the most exquisite works of art.

But more than the tattoos, her form was breathtaking; though I could only see her backside. Not able to look away, my eyes fell to her perfect ass. An ass that sent a wave of the most sinful thoughts through my mind.

I felt a most definite stab of disappointment when she covered it with her underwear. I shall certainly burn for this.

Then she began to turn around, which instantly snapped me out of my reverie. I immediately fell backwards onto the ground, right into the mud. Quietly I crawled from the window, out of sight. Managing to get away from the window unseen, I ran to my horse and quietly led it away. Of course when I arrived home, I had to explain to Mrs. Bailey how my riding outfit got covered with mud. I told her I tripped as I dismounted.

I didn't want to leave. That part of me that lurks deep inside, wanted to go right back in and fall into her arms.

Who is she?

The rest of the day went as normal. My sister, Cat and my cousin Susan, who were all standing up in my wedding, came over for tea where we discussed the wedding. Jade was there serving and much to my relief, she made no sign that she saw me spying on her.

My sister frowns upon my friendship with Jade, but other than a few disparaging remarks towards Jade, she's kept quiet on the subject.

I know Jade's excited for the part and the small performance she will be putting on. In the meantime, Beckett will be taking me out to dinner tomorrow evening in London. A very fancy French restaurant, he told me. I have my doubts and my worries about the marriage. But I know we will be happy. When were out and he's being attentive and flattering I can easily see how we can be happy together.

When I'm alone, the doubts creep back in. When I'm with Jade, I'm just with Jade and I'm happy. I can't help myself when I'm around her, I know that. But these unholy feelings, urges and Jade will soon be a thing of the past.

I can't but feel some sadness at that thought.

**Jade's POV**

It's been a busy week. I had my first rehearsal with the actor Charles Green. It was at the estate of Sir Miles Evanston. He owned a large estate with a huge ballroom. That is where we were to perform.

Charles was a tall thin man, and a head of curly brown hair. I worried about how he'd react to having to work with an amateur like me. But I found him to be friendly and gracious.

Sir Miles had picked out 2 scenes for us to do. One was Macbeth Act 1, Scene 7. I would be playing Lady Macbeth and He would be playing Macbeth himself. It was the scene where Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to kill King Duncan.

The other one was from Richard the III, it was Act 1, scene, 2. Charles plays Richard and I play Anne. It is a scene were the evil Richard woo's a woman right over the coffin of her husband. The late King.

I was a bit nervous working with him as I said, but we got right down to work. He told me at the end of the night that he really didn't mind working with anyone, just as long as they were professional and serious. He told me I was both of those things and was quite impressed by me. I had some time to talk acting and did my best to observe his technique.

As far as a formal dress, I was given one of Trina's. It was a slightly older one that didn't quite fit her. It was a simple blue formal dress and Mrs. Bailey was kind enough to have a friend make the few alterations that was needed to have it fit.

Finally Saturday came, Charles and I were ready, my dress was ready and my stomach was full of butterflies. Mostly because I really wanted to impress Tori.

So I pulled out some of the big guns. I wash my hair with crude soap. It's all there really available. But for a special occasion I kept a small shampoo bottle and a small bottle of strawberry scented body wash, in my bag. The type you'd find a typical hotel room.

Soon I was dressed and if I don't mind saying so myself, I looked fucking fantastic.

"Ready or not Tori, here I come." I said with a smirk as I left to meet Tori at the house to go to the party.

**No One's POV.**

Tori and her father were waiting by the barn where they had a fancy looking carriage hooked up to the horses. Jade had seen it before in the barn under a tarp and guessed it was only used for special occasions. Normally the plain wagon was used.

"Ah. Jade you're here. We can go now. You look wonderful the evening." Mr. Walker who was dressed in fancy 1860's dress said.

Tori who saw Jade a second later, didn't speak right away, as the sight of Jade in a formal gown with her hair done pretty much blew her completely away.

With slightly parted lips and a heart that had suddenly began to race, Tori stood there in awe of Jade's beauty.

She managed to collect her wits a moment later. "Jade you look lovely this evening.

Jade herself was similarly awestruck by Tori in her beautiful pink ball gown, who likewise returned the compliment. "You look quite beautiful Miss Victoria."

Tori's father ushered both women into the carriage and soon they were off, with Robert the groom driving.

In the carriage, Tori couldn't notice the faint sweet smell coming from the woman sitting next to her. Tori found it oddly intoxicating and her mind quickly drifted to the other morning where she saw Jade in the nude.

They made pleasant small talk on the way, but both Tori and Jade had each other on their minds. Jade while wanting desperately to impress Tori, still was plagued by guilt. Jade after all was essentially a fraud and still somewhat of a stalker. That didn't quite sit well with Jade.

Tori of course kept thinking of Jade, how she smelled, her strange but beautiful tattoos, just how mysterious she was.

Just before 8 in the evening, the carriage pulled up in front of the mansion belonging to Sir Miles Evanston. A well-dressed footman promptly opened the carriage door and helped both Jade and Tori out of the carriage.

Entering the mansion, Jade could hear the sound of classical music playing off to the left which is where the ballroom was.

Soon they reached the door of the ballroom where the party was in full swing. In one corner several musicians sat playing classical music. Men and women, all dressed in their finest mingled around the room. In the center, several couples were dancing a rather formal looking Waltz. There were of course extremely well dressed servants, carrying sterling silver trays with both glasses of wine and food. Jade could only imagine what a fancy ball from the 1800's could have looked like. Being there, it was much like she imagined it to be, beautiful and elegant.

"Ahh. Mr. Walker, Tori and Jade, Sir Miles has been expecting you. May I announce you." Said one of the well-dressed servants who was standing in the doorway.

"Of course, please do."

The servant stepped forward and loudly cleared his throat. "Arriving are, Major David Walker and his Daughter, Miss Victoria Walker of Herford, accompanied by Miss Jade West of Los Angeles, California."

Jade looked to Tori who smiled and they all entered the party.

**I wanted to get this out and not make the chapters too long. I'll have the next installment out soon where you will find out what happens at the party. **

**But you got a bit of naughtiness by Tori who spied on Jade and got quite an eyeful. She just couldn't help but look.**

**For those following my other story "The Real me." I am working on and hope to have the next chapter out soon.**


	20. The Garden

**Disclaimer: The Show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 20 - The Garden**

**No One's POV**

Tori, her father and Jade entered the ball. From what Jade had read, there was a certain formality to how things were done. Such as, one could not ask a woman to dance without a proper introduction.

Mr. Walker promptly went off and returned in a few moments with a small card and handed it to Jade. He also gave her a pencil.

"Here is your dance card. Tori in engaged so she is not likely to be asked to dance as it would seem in good taste. But in case you are not familiar, it is a list of all the songs and dances they will play and a line to put down who you plan to dance with."

"Thank you." Jade said. She had heard the term dance card, but never actually had seen one. But that was how things were done, so Jade decided to play along.

Jade's little play was not due for another hour so she, Tori and Mr. Walker walked around and mingled. Jade was introduced to several well to do people; Young men, old men, proper ladies etc. They all engaged in polite conversation with many asking about America and what it was like.

Though Jade had no interest in men, she quickly noticed several of them seemed to be interested in her. Several of the young men were struck by her beauty and just the fact that she was so different. After a short while Jade had been asked to dance by at least 6 men. Not wanting to be rude, she graciously accepted and penciled them in on her dance card.

Tori wanting to see the food, pulled Jade aside and took her into the adjoining room where a buffet of light finger foods was presented in a most elaborate manor. The table had, Tea, coffee, an assortment of Ices, biscuits, Cakes, Cracker bonbon's and small sandwiches. All of them were on sterling silver trays and each piece of food looked delicious.

Jade chuckled to herself at the sheer fanciness of it all. She couldn't help but think of some of the parties she attended back in high school. A half barrel in one room, a DJ in another room and sometimes a few bags of potato chips to munch on. This was light years ahead of that.

After nibbling on a few sandwiches, it was time for Jade to dance with one of the men who had requested. She had explained that she didn't really know the steps, but the guys didn't seem to care.

Jade of course, pretended to enjoy the rather formal dance. She did so for two reasons, first not to be rude and secondly maybe it would make Tori just a bit jealous.

Tori spent a lot of her time, with her father or talking to some of the older ladies in attendance. All the while, she kept one eye on the mysterious American beauty, as Jade danced with the young men. Tori found herself not liking it one single bit, much to her surprise.

Finally it was time to prepare for the small play. Jade and her costar quickly changed into their costumes as Sir Miles announced that for his guests he was going to have a couple short scenes from Shakespeare presented to them.

The little play was presented on a small stage that had been constructed in one corner of the ball room.

As they were about to go on, Jade found herself a bit nervous. Though she was loathe to admit it, she did suffer from stage fright on occasion.

Seeing her nervousness as they were about to take the stage, Charles looked sympathetically at her. "Stagefright?"

Jade nodded. "I shouldn't. I know, but it happens sometimes. I want to put on a good show for my friend and I'm nervous. I'll bet that something you don't have to contend with."

Charles laughed then leaned in close. "I'll tell you a little secret. Stagefright, I suffer from terrible stagefright. Always have."

Jade did a double take. From what she knew of Charles Green and his career he was cool as a cucumber before he went on stage. "What? I never suspected. How do you deal with it."

Charles paused for a moment, as he listened to their host introduce them. He then looked back to Jade with a wry smile. "I just act as if it doesn't bother me at all. I do believe it's time. After you my lady."

The pair hit the stage and Jade simply acted as if the stage fright didn't bother her. Soon they were in the scene and all was going well.

Tori quickly moved to the front and was quickly impressed by Jade's acting skill. It was amazing how the Jade she knew quickly vanished and was replaced by sinister Lady Macbeth. Tori was more than impressed.

As the performance went, on Tori found herself wondering about that tattooed heart on her. Heart's signified love and from what Tori knew about tattoos is that they were of great significance to the person with it.

"A broken heart. Someone broke her heart. It has to mean that. Who gave her that broken heart? Someone had to have." Tori whispered to herself, as she further mulled it over.

Jade and Charles Green's performance, though short, was very well received. They got a quick and vigorous round of applause from the assembled.

After they were done and changed back into their clothes, Sir Miles came up to Jade and Charles looking quite pleased. They also noticed he was carrying two glasses of wine.

"You've both performed beyond my fullest expectations. I'll be sure to pay you both a bit extra. But in the meantime, while you mingle with the impressed crowd, have a glass of my finest wine, Chateau Yquem 1796. "

Jade smiled, took the wine and had a sip. Her mother was a huge wine snob and Jade reveled in the fact that her mother would die of envy if she knew her daughter was drinking wine from 1796. The best part was the wine itself was pretty damn good.

For a time, Jade basked in the adulation of the crowd. She was dying to know what Tori was thinking of it, but she hadn't spoken to her yet.

Finally Jade felt a tap on the shoulder, to see a smiling Tori. "Jade. Your performance was marvelous. I was quite impressed. You are a consummate actress."

Of all the praise that night, Tori's was the most important. But the words consummate actress bothered her. It only reminded Jade that she was still acting and had been the whole time. That feeling of guilt quickly returned and with a vengeance.

Jade for a while longer mingled and danced with several other young men, but this time she had a harder time pretending to be enjoying herself.

"I'm a liar and a fraud." Jade thought to herself as she danced with a young military officer. As she danced, the thoughts and doubts kept coming. "Tori's so pretty and good. What right do I have to seduce her? I just need to save her. Do we belong together."

Across the room, Tori kept watching Jade. While she initially appeared to be enjoying her dancing, Tori quickly realized she wasn't and guessed she hadn't been at all. It only further confirmed her suspicions that Jade preferred the company of women.

After Jade danced with all she had said she would, she decided to have a walk in the gardens outside the mansion to think. This severe attack of guilt had come at a most inconvenient time and Jade just needed some time alone.

She wandered out into the moonlight and rather immaculate gardens trying to think of what to do next. Finally she found a bench behind some tall shrubbery that was rather secluded.

For almost half an hour Jade stared up at the half moon thinking about Tori. The more she thought the more her conscience bothered her.

"I love Tori, but all I do is lie to her. Am I no better than Beckett. What am I here for, to seduce Tori or to save her from a disastrous marriage?" Jade mumbled to herself.

Meanwhile I single figure crept into the garden. It was Tori who, not having seen Jade in some time, decided to look for her. She soon found Jade sitting on a bench, sitting alone.

Seeing Jade alone, Tori once again found herself happy to have Jade to herself. But there was a sad look on Jade's face that Tori quickly found bothersome.

"Jade?" Tori said softly.

Surprised Jade looked up to see Tori standing a few feet away. She couldn't help but think how beautiful Tori looked in the moonlight. At this point, Jade no longer could go through with any plans to win Tori's heart. It just didn't seem fair and it felt wrong. It wasn't the right way to build any kind of relationship on and Jade knew it.

"Hello Tori. What brings you out here?"

"You. I hadn't seen you in a while and wondered where you were. Why are you out here alone." Tori said

"I just needed some air. That and I wanted to enjoy the night."

"May I join you."

Jade felt another twinge of guilt pass through her heart. "Yes of course."

Tori quietly sat down next to Jade and thought how good it felt just to be sitting next to this fascinating woman. A woman she now knew she needed to know even better.

For several minutes the pair sat in silence as they both looked at the moon. Jade though was preoccupied by her dual feelings of guilt and desire.

"Jade? I just wanted to say how glad I am go have gotten to know you. I will be most sad when you leave us. You're quite an extraordinary individual."

'Thank you." Jade said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Tori her heart beating like mad, made a decision. "Jade, I know you have a secret."

Jade's eyes momentarily bugged out as she looked back to Tori. "What? I don't know what you're talking about." Jade immediately began to fear that Tori somehow figured out she wasn't from this time. It was an absurd thought, but Jade couldn't help but think it as she quietly began to freak out.

Tori then inched herself a bit closer to Jade. "Don't fear. I know what it's like. You can trust me."

Jade was now really starting to freak out. "What is she doing?" Jade thought quickly.

After a moment of Jade not saying anything Tori said in soft tone. "What was her name?"

Jade's heart began to beat faster and faster. "Who…Whose name?"

For a moment Tori gazed into Jade's eyes invitingly, then quietly took Jade's hand in hers. "The woman that broke your heart." Tori had guessed that broken heart tattoo was put there, because a woman had indeed broken her heart.

Jade audibly gasped as a whole sequence of thoughts plowed through her mind. "Becca, who in the hell did she know some woman broke my heart? Oh my god, here I am debating if I should seduce her and now SHE'S SEDUCING ME."

Tori seeing the rather shocked look on Jade's face, knew her guess was correct. Tori then took Jade's hand into her lap and with her other gently caressed Jade's cheek. "You're so beautiful. And you're not alone. I too enjoy the touch of a soft female hand. I love the touch of yours it's so soft."

Tori knew she had the urges and couldn't, nor wanted to resist them. In the back of her mind she rationalized it away by telling herself in order to purge them, she had to give into them. But deeper still, she was falling for Jade. Like Miss Bradford had her, Tori decided she would have Jade.

Jade opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out, as her brain suddenly went haywire.

Tori smiled, knowing full well she had Jade right where she wanted her. "Nothing to say?" Tori said playfully. "I'll guess I'll just have to kiss you. I can't leave those beautiful lips untouched for one second longer."

The next thing Jade knew Tori had wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a soft, succulent and passionate kiss.

Jade's mind exploded with joy and her nipples hardened instantly, as Tori deepened the kiss. For Jade the kiss was beyond anything she had ever imagined and the fact that Tori was seducing her, negated those doubts instantly. Not able to hold herself back any longer Jade slowly pressed her tongue into Tori's mouth and lovingly touched her tongue.

For nearly 10 solid minutes the two young woman kissed with wild abandon. Other than an odd moan of pleasure, nothing was said. They spoke with their lips, their hands and passion.

However just was Tori was thinking of how to steal away with Jade a familiar male voice broke the air.

"Victoria?"

It was the unmistakable voice of Beckett only a short distance away, which broke the spell between them abruptly. Tori remembered that he had been invited but said he had business and couldn't attend. She guessed something had changed.

Jade made a "Sh" motion on her lips. "We can hide." Jade then whispered.

Tori however, found herself calling out as she stood up. "I'm here." It was that part of her, that wanted the normal husband and the life that went with it, that did.

A few seconds later Tori looked to her right to see a happy looking Beck come around the corner of the tall shrubbery. She quickly planned to tell Beck that Jade and her were catching a quick breath of air.

"Ah…There you are. What are you doing out her all alone?"

It was then; Tori realized that Jade who was sitting on the bench to her left only a few seconds ago was gone.

"I was just having a breath of fresh air. Why are you here? I thought you couldn't make it."

Beck leaned in and stole a kiss. "I couldn't keep away from my lovely fiancé, besides whom am I to dance with. Let me escort you to the dance floor."

With very mixed feelings, Tori smiled and allowed Beck to lead her to the dance floor. She couldn't help but feel terribly for calling out when she could have remained hidden with Jade. But she was with her soon to be husband and that moral part of her was quite pleased. Her heart however was not.

As they finished the dance, Tori's father walked up and warmly shook Beckett's hand. "Good to have you here son. My daughter looks happier than ever. I can't tell you how forward I am to having you as a son in law."

"Thank you sir." Responded Beckett.

"Father?" Tori asked, realizing she hadn't seen Jade since their moment in the garden. "Have you seen Jade?"

"Oh yes. She had Robert take her home just now. He will return shortly. She said she had to work early in the morning and needed some proper rest. Quite senseable on her part."

"Oh…I see." Tori said, barely able to cover up her feeling of remorse. Not for kissing Jade, but stupidly ending it in the way it had. it left her stomach tied in knots.

Beck who didn't even notice the brief look of distress on Tori's face, took Tori's hand and led her towards the dance floor. "Come on, I feel in the mood for another dance. The night is young. Let us celebrate."

Tori though smiling, didn't feel like celebrating at all.

**Some people have the worst timing, don't they?**

**How will Jade react? Will Tori try anything again? You'll just have to wait till the next chapter. **


	21. The Moment - Part 1

**Disclaimer: The show Victorious, its characters and other associated copyrights are property of someone else and not me.**

**Across the years.**

**Chapter 21 – The moment – Part 1**

**No One's POV**

For the rest of the evening, Beck poured on his normal charm. On one level she was happy that all was as it should be; her at a ball with a very handsome man, who would soon be her husband. The other ladies were giving her looks of envy.

But Jade was gone and Tori had no idea how upset Jade was. Tori felt torn, Torn between tremendous pressure to conform to society norms, family obligations and growing attraction to Jade.

By the end of the night Tori managed to push those worries about Jade out of her mind, as Beck kept pouring on the charm and the compliments. The weight of those societal pressures didn't seem as bad when Beck flashed his smile.

Of course once Beck said his farewell at the end of the evening, Tori started to worry again. As if released from some spell, Thoughts of Jade quickly returned.

Lying in bed, alone Tori soon fell into a deep sorrow for how she treated Jade. What surprised Tori most, was the depth and intensity of the feelings of regret and sorrow that came upon her. For the first time since her mother died, Tori would cry herself to sleep.

The following day was Sunday and Tori first caught a glimpse of Jade at breakfast. The actress came out holding a tray of eggs. What struck Tori was her emotionless expression. The young Latina immediately found it disconcerting.

"Good Morning Jade. How are you this morning?" Tori said, desperately trying to get some reaction out of Jade.

"Fine, Thank you Miss Victoria." Jade replied in a monotone voice.

As Tori's spirits quickly dropped, her father interjected. "Jade, You're performance last night was splendid. Sir Miles was quite impressed."

Jade paused from her serving duties and again replied in polite but monotone voice. "Thank you Sir, It was my pleasure."

Jade then quickly finished and vanished into the kitchen without so much as looking at Tori. The rest of breakfast was the same. Jade was there, but she showed almost no emotion and did her work quietly and diligently. It saddened Tori greatly.

"Jade's furious at me, I know it." Tori thought, as she ate her breakfast.

"Is something wrong Victoria, you seem sad this morning."

Realizing she had door a poor job of hiding her emotions, Tori quickly lied. "I was just thinking of mother. She will not be able to see me married. It saddens me greatly."

Mr. Walker nodded his head. "I miss her as well. You're sorrow is quite understandable. We're going to church after breakfast; you should remember to say prayer for her.'

"I will father."

In church a little while later, Tori did pray. But she prayed for some way to make this all right, as she really had no idea how. At this point, she wasn't even sure what she wanted half the time.

After church, Tori hardly felt better. She felt even worse as the day went on. All day, Jade played the part of quiet, emotionless, hardworking servant. Tori also suspected that Jade was actually avoiding her.

Jade was avoiding her. Last night's incident left her confused, frustrated, guilt ridden, aroused, hurt, but mostly angry. In fact, at one point when she got home, she found herself tempted to just go home and let Tori rot in that grave.

Realizing she may do or say something wrong, not to mention she was angry at Tori, Jade retreated inside her character. She would be the quiet, hardworking servant and nothing else. She wasn't going to be rude to Tori, in fact Tori found Jade to be quite polite and very formal that day. That was when she actually spoke, which wasn't very much.

The only time they got to talk was when Jade was working at the inn in the afternoon. But during all that time, they were never alone and Jade stayed as she was.

After an hour of greeting customers, Tori told Colin the bartender she was feeling ill and was going to lay down. In reality she found it harder and harder to be around Jade. The woman she kissed her so passionately only last night, had turned completely to ice. Tori would stay in her room the rest of the day and didn't come to dinner.

Jade didn't let that bother her and kept working. Her co-workers did notice she seemed less talkative than normal, but they figured she was just tired from the ball the previous night.

That Sunday night, Tori went to bed feeling worse than ever and for a second night she cried herself to sleep. The guilt and longing she felt seemed to grow with each passing hour.

The next day was Monday, which Tori knew was Jade's day off. Tori knew she couldn't handle another day with Jade mad at her. In fact she found herself wanting to be with Jade more than ever. After eating breakfast that morning, Tori told her father that she was going to take a long walk and probably wouldn't be back until lunch. That was something she did frequently, so he thought nothing of it.

As she walked out of her home, she immediately felt herself being drawn down the path to Jade's cabin. She couldn't have walked anywhere else, even if she wanted to. She knew it was a sin, what she wanted, her thoughts, her feelings. She got that message every Sunday in church. But as much as she wanted to she couldn't shake that desire. It was a part of her that stubbornly refused to fade away. Even more important, she more than wanted to be with Jade, she felt somehow she needed to be with Jade. She didn't understand any of it; all she knew is that she couldn't avoid it any longer. Superficially she justified it by saying that to indulge her feelings was the best way to purge it once and for all before the wedding. Having at least somewhat come to terms with hit, she walked steadily to Jade's cabin. Jade would be now, praying would come later.

The knock that Jade heard at her doo,r was both hoped for and dreaded all at the same time. The Goth figured that Tori would come, so she waited by the fireplace sipping her coffee and staring at the flames.

"Come in." Jade said with a sigh, as she stood, but still faced the fire.

Cautiously Tori opened the door, crept in and closed it behind her. Jade was standing by the fireplace, holding a cup of coffee and staring into the fire. As Tori walked closer to Jade, the actress looked at her briefly, and then returned her attention to the flames. She really didn't want to look at Tori at the moment.

"There's coffee in the pot on the stove if you want some." Jade said quietly.

"No thank you."

"So what can I do for you today, Miss Victoria?" jade said in cold and very formal tone of voice.

"Jade, I said you could call me Tori."

"I'm aware of that. So why are you here."

Tori shifted her feet uncomfortably as she collected her thoughts. "I've come to apologize."

Jade glance briefly back at the rather nervous looking Latina. "What for? You're fiancé was looking for you. You called out to him. Some would see nothing wrong in that." Jade said, her voice laced with a hint of sarcasm.

"That's not what you see. Don't you?"

Jade didn't answer; all she did was take a sip of her coffee and continue to stare at the flames.

Tori at this point decided to change tactics. "You never answered my question last night."

"Which question was that?"

"Who broke your heart?"

Jade was still a bit baffled how Tori knew, but answered anyway. "Her name was Rebecca, but I just called her Becca. We were a couple, not a fling or a brief affair, for more than a year. I loved her and she loved me. But….." Tori at this point could hear a noticeable bit of pain in Jade's voice as she continued to speak. It wasn't there at first, but as if Jade could no longer conceal it, the pain became evident.

"But…I was wrong. I was, to put it simply…a plaything, a diversion. The second it became inconvenient for her, she….."

Tori took a step closer as Jade sighed deeply, her face now registering the same pain her voice.

"Just started to see someone else. Didn't even have the courage to properly end it. I loved her and I meant nothing to her."

The story was heartbreaking for Tori to hear. It was even more distressing to see how painful it was for Jade to tell the story. It also made Jade's behavior make a bit more sense. It made Tori's regret even more profound.

"And you think you mean nothing to me."

Jade dropped her head and looked down at her shoes. "The thought had occurred to me."

Jade could hear Tori come close behind her, part of her wanted to turn and face the Latina, hold her, kiss her, but she was too afraid of being hurt again.

"Jade. I am sorry for last night. I wanted to be with you. I just panicked. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. You mean so very much to me. You're the most beautiful woman I know, you're strange and mysterious, funny and bold. I can't stop thinking about you and I've felt horrid for the last two days. I never meant to treat you like that Becca. She was a fool. Please forgive me." Tori said, as a tear ran down her cheek.

Hearing those sorrow felt words, Jade found herself wanting to forgive Tori more than anything. She stayed still, as some part of her remained stubborn. Then another thought popped into her mind. "How did you know about her?"

"It's kind of embarrassing. I wanted to see you and I peeked in your window one morning. I saw you from behind, I saw those beautiful tattoos. I guessed the heart represented your broken one."

Jade chuckled slightly. "Did you like what you saw?"

"Yes. Very much. Would you like to see my body?"

Jade's eyes opened wide as she realized she could hear what sounded like a dress falling to the floor. She also became acutely aware, that her heart had started to beat in a most furious fashion.

"Yes, I would." Jade, said her voice shaking slightly.

"Then turn around." Tori said in a soft voice. "We won't be disturbed. I can't promise anything but the moment, but it will be OUR moment. "

Still not believing what was happening; Jade slowly turned around to see that Tori had quickly and quietly undressed behind her. Jade's already rapidly beating heart shifted into overdrive to see the object of her affection standing naked in in front of her.

"You don't have to do this to get my forgiveness Tori."

"Am I forgiven?"

Jade nodded slowly, still enraptured by Tori's perfect and naked body.

Tori then stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Jade and ever so tenderly pressed her lips against Jades slightly parted lips. Jade was in heaven as she fell deeper into the kiss. She wanted to remain in Tori's arm's forever.

Having already traveled more than a century to get here, Jade didn't want to waste another second. She abruptly broke the kiss and picked up Tori in her arms bridal style.

"Jade?" Tori said looking a bit surprised.

With a wide smirk, Jade quickly carried Tori into her bedroom and gently placed Tori on the bed. Tori then watched as Jade stripped in fewer than 3 seconds.

"Looks like someone's a bit eager." Tori said playfully.

Jade, longer able to contain her desire for Tori, wordlessly jumped into bed and crawled on top of Tori. "You're mine, you're mine, you're mine." Jade said, breathlessly before initiating a deep and sensual kiss.

As Tori was showered with kisses and affection, she was pleasantly surprised by the seeming depth of Jade's passion. On top of that Tori's own passions were quickly running away from her.

Jade kept kissing Tori in an almost desperate fashion; much like a starving man would gorge himself at a table holding a luscious feast. At the moment, her guilt, her worries her mission all faded in her mind as she held her precious and Beautiful Tori.

Tori, for the first time in recent memory felt right, felt like she was exactly where she should be. Letting go with her deepest instincts, she kissed back and simply couldn't stop.

Quickly the temperature of the room seemed to heat up as the two women in bed, unleashed their passions on each other.

But one errant thought did flash through Tori's head. "Jade!"

Jade who had moved to Tori's neck looked up. "Yes."

"I must remain a virgin. I would be utterly disgraced if I were to…."

Jade nodded and gave Tori a sympathetic look. "Don't worry."

It was a slight annoyance, but Jade understood. She had Tori for the moment and that's all that mattered.

"You're so beautiful Jade. I don't know how many times I can say that. "

Jade immediately blushed, "Thank you. You're beautiful as well."

"Jade."

"Yes Tori."

"Please, I still feel badly. Let me love you. Let me show you just how. I need to."

It was music to Jade's ears and she flipped onto her back. "Your wish is my command, my lady."

Tori sat up for a moment and grinned. Then she ever so slowly began to kiss Jade's neck. Small tender kisses, licks and a few nibbles, she planted on either side of Jade's neck. For Tori, it came so naturally.

After a few minutes she moved down to Jade's breast and found herself happily playing with them. She touched them, sniffed them, licked them, all kinds of things. Eventually Jade who was happy as hell, quipped. "Someone's having fun."

Tori simply giggled and resumed suckling on Jade's left breast.

Jade was simply in heaven. Tori was not only kind, thoughtful, funny, intelligent, but in addition to that was a wonderful lover. There was a tenderness and affection behind every kiss, every caress and it brought Jade not only physical ecstasy but a Jade remembered Becca as passionate but not loving. Only now did Jade see the true difference.

Before Jade had only had sex, now this very morning she realized she was making love for the first time and she couldn't have been any happier.

**End of part 1**

**I'm breaking this encounter up into two parts. You'll get the rest in the next chapter. I hoped you liked it.**

**Thanks to Invader Johnny.**


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